


Gideon's Six Month Guide to Meeting Your Soulmate

by IncendiaGlacies



Series: Matchmaker AU [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Gen, Human!Gideon, Matchmaking, RipFic, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-28
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-08 06:20:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 84,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11640738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IncendiaGlacies/pseuds/IncendiaGlacies
Summary: “Why are you so scared to be happy?” Gideon asked again, “Six months, Mr. Hunter. That’s all I’m asking. Six months and I promise I’ll find you your perfect soulmate, or you get all your money back and get to walk away from me. But my code is never wrong, and neither am I. I’ll find you a match. Just give me six months.”Gideon is Rip's matchmaker and determined to find his soulmate. We all know how this is going to end, but it's the getting there that's fun.Unofficially Titled: Timeship: The Ultimate Romcom





	1. Meeting the Matchmaker

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AgentMaryMargaretSkitz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentMaryMargaretSkitz/gifts), [MissCrazyWriter321](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissCrazyWriter321/gifts).



> You know I've reached peak Timeship fangirling when I'm actually attempting an actual multichapter story for them. But this has been on my mind for a while, so I sincerely hope you all like it.

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.”

“I actually mean it this time, I actually, really and truly hate you!”

“Now would you let Jonas hear you talk like that?”

“Leave my son out of this, Sara,” Rip glared.

“You started it,” Sara smirked as she went back to sipping her drink, “You don’t have any ground to stand on. I did what’s best for you. You should be grateful.”

“I hate you,” Rip repeated for the billionth time, though most of the heat had been sapped from his voice. He turned his gaze to the man sitting across from him at the table next to Sara, “I can’t believe you agreed to this.”

“Really?” Leonard drawled not even looking up from the menu, “She does what she likes and has my full support. Always.”

“Traitor,” Rip accused his so-called friend.

Leonard shrugged, “She’s got a point this time. Now calm down before you get us thrown out of here, I actually like this place. Decent food.”

“You happen to be the one that got us banned from the last four restaurants anyways.”

“I have some klepto tendencies, it’s a habit,” Leonard wiggled his fingers in the air as if itching to grab something. Sara slapped his hand down before speaking again.

“This could be good for you.”

“A dating website? Normal people get cards for birthdays, not signed up for blind dates!”

“It’s not a blind date. I considered that too, but I actually want my friends to stay friends with me after going on a date with you.”

“Excuse me? Are you insinuating I’m the problem here?” Rip spluttered angrily.

“I’m saying you haven’t been on a proper date since the divorce and that was years ago.”

Rip sighed not wanting to hear anymore. So he was in a bit of a dating slump, it wasn’t a big deal. Being a single dad was hard enough without adding in the pressures of dating and whether a woman would like Jonas. Or more importantly, whether Jonas would like the woman. Dating just hadn’t been a priority for him.

“So a dating website is your solution?” Rip questioned not wanting to voice all his thoughts.

“It’s not just any dating website, this is the best. It’s not even really a website, I mean you can do only that and a lot of people do. But it has full matchmaking services with actual people, you’re not just uploading a picture of yourself and hoping someone will swipe right on you.”

“It sounds absolutely ridiculous. Love is not determined by some algorithm on the computer, I thought you of all people would understand that,” Rip gestured at her and Leonard. After all, they hadn’t met online.

“Some people aren’t lucky enough to find what Sara and I have so easily. No shame in that,” Leonard winked with his arm around Sara as Rip continued to scowl at him.

“Len, shut up. Look, I am paying the best of the best a lot of money. We all are,” Sara admitted.

“When you say ‘we’, you mean?”

“All of us. Literally all of us, we want what’s good for you so we all pitched in. Tada!” Sara made cutesy jazz hands at him.

“So no decent presents this year at all?” Rip looked like a wounded animal.

“Stop acting like a child!” Sara scolded. Rip huffed, he understood why his son was always in a mood whenever he didn’t get a new videogame now. It just wasn’t fair.

“I’m not doing it,” Rip said again.

“Yes, you are,” Sara said.

“No, I’m not.”

“Your first appointment with the matchmaker is on Monday at 12 pm, his name is Curtis. He’s nice so you will be nice as well.”

“I’m not going.”

“I took it during your lunch hour so you should have plenty of time to go and make it back to work.”

“Sara, I’m telling you, I’m not going. You might as well get a refund now.”

“There are no refunds, so yes, you’re going whether you like it or not. It’s for your own good.”

“Now that that’s been settled,” Leonard started.

“Nothing is settled or decided on, I’m not going!”

“Of course you’re going. Now pick something to eat, you’ve got to get back to your son and Kendra isn’t going to babysit all day.”

“I’m not going,” Rip repeated stubbornly as he looked at his own menu. He wasn’t going, Monday would come and go but he wasn’t going. That was that.

* * *

 

Monday came and by noon he was sitting in a lobby with background instrumental music, a refreshment table, cutesy flower vases and a nosy secretary that looked at him every few minutes and then laughed to herself.

“You really don’t want to be here, do you?” she finally said.

Rip looked her over and found her name tag – Iris – before answering, “No, I really don’t. What gave it away?”

“Oh just the general look of disinterest and anger and fidgeting. Most people are nervous or embarrassed, but you’re just annoyed,” she commented with a smile.

“Yes well, I’m not here because I want to be. I was forced to be here.”

“Forced?” Iris looked at the empty seats next to him, no one was holding a gun to his head and making him stay here. Rip sighed to himself, she wouldn’t understand the wrath of Sara Lance anyways, especially combined with her sister, Laurel. If the fifty text messages and twenty seven voicemails he got were any indication, he had to be here.

“Yes. Now how long is this going to take?” Rip snapped at her.

Iris scoffed quietly, “No need to be snappy. Curtis will be out soon, try not to bite his head off.”

“I’ll try. This whole thing is ridiculous anyways.” Honestly he was only here because he was hoping to talk them into letting him out of it.

“Most people are skeptical, but they do a pretty good job here. It got me a boyfriend,” Iris vouched for the work.

“Doesn’t mean it’s for everyone. It certainly isn’t for me.”

“Well they have a refund policy if it doesn’t work out,” Iris offered.

“I don’t care about the refund, I mean I suppose that would be fine too. But I’m not paying and my friends shouldn’t have done this anyways. I just don’t see the point of spending my time on a few dates for it to not work out.”

“Actually it’s not just a few dates,” an upbeat man walked out of one of the offices, “You get to keep using our services until we find you a match or we hit our time limit. Every person has their own individualized time limit so that we make sure we meet our goal. Hi, I’m Curtis by the way,” Curtis smiled and held out his hand. Rip reluctantly got up and shook his hand and followed the man into one of the back offices, he threw one last desperate glance at Iris who simply waved as she laughed some more.

“So the first thing we need to do is fill out a bit of a personality profile,” Curtis started as he sat in his chair.

“How is this any different from making a profile online?”

“Well we feel that you learn a lot more when you do the personalized matchmaking option, there are more choices and variances if you will.”

“You still use a computer to match us up though,” Rip pointed out. They were taking the humanity out of love itself.

“Technically speaking they’re highly developed algorithms which can detect the – you don’t care about this, do you?” Curtis stopped himself as his client’s eyes glazed over. This always happened, no one ever wanted to hear about the cool stuff!

“I have a hard time believing a computer is going to find my soulmate,” Rip said.

“Well you’ll never know if you don’t give it a chance. It’s not just a computer though as your matchmaker I’m here to make the experience more personalized,” Curtis insisted, “Now why don’t you tell me some of the big things you’re looking for in your partner?”

Rip sighed, clearly he wasn’t getting out of this whether he wanted to or not, but that didn’t mean he actually had to try hard.

“Independence,” Rip shrugged. It wasn’t a lie exactly. He did like independent women, they were strong and could handle themselves (Sara Lance was most definitely a good example of that, and his own ex-wife). Besides, he couldn’t do clingy, he had Jonas to worry about. He couldn’t be bogged down with text messages from some woman wondering when he’d call.

The questions continued: What did he find physically attractive? What did he like in a date? What were his hobbies? Sometimes he was more truthful than others, after all, if they couldn’t find him a match then he got out of it and his friends got their money back.

“Alright, based on all the information you’ve given me, I think we should be able to find you a match in about a month,” Curtis smiled as he looked up from his computer screen.

“A month?” He had to deal with these nuisance matchmakers for a month?

“Possibly less, but it all depends on you too. And how well your dates go.”

“Fine then,” he could put up with this stupidity for a month, after all then it would be over. “It was nice meeting you. If you don’t mind, I’m going to go see if I can actually go grab lunch in what’s left of my lunch break.”

“Of course, I’ll give you a call on the number you left with Iris when I find your first date?” Curtis asked excitedly.

“Sure, that’s fine,” Rip grimaced as he got up. Only a month, only a month, he repeated the mantra as he walked out of the building.

* * *

 

Sure enough a few days later Curtis gave him a call and informed Rip he had a date set up for Saturday night. And by the time Saturday evening rolled around he was dressed and his house was being invaded.

“I asked Kendra to babysit, why are you all here?” Rip questioned the crowd in his living room.

“We care about Jonas too,” Leonard placed a hand over his heart. He was sitting on the floor against Sara’s legs where she was sitting on the couch.

“Well he does,” Sara wrapped her arms around Len from behind him and kissed him on the cheek, “I want all the dirty details from your first date.”

“You act like I haven’t ever been on a date!”

“You haven’t! It’s been years!”

Rip continued to glare at her before turning his sight to the remaining member, “And what’s your excuse for being here, Jax?”

“Come on man, I had a free night and wanted to spend it with my friends. My mom is out playing cards with the girls and I just didn’t want to be alone. How was I supposed to know you’d have a date?” Jax said.

“Because I told you Wednesday at the garage when I last saw you.”

“He’s still trying to score a date with Kendra, isn’t it precious?” Leonard smirked.

“That is not tru-“

“Yes it is,” Sara smiled at Jax, “I think it’d be cute. But she’s had some bad relationships in the past, Jax.”

“All ready to leave? Someone wants to say bye to his daddy,” Kendra came in from the other room holding Jonas’s hand.

Rip immediately held his arms open so he could catch his son in a running hug. Kendra smiled at the little boy. Meanwhile Jax unconsciously sat up straighter much to Sara’s amusement.

“Now then, you’ll be good for Kendra. Right?” Rip asked as he kneeled in front of his son. Technically speaking he didn’t really have to, it now made him shorter than Jonas, but it made Rip feel better. His little boy couldn’t grow up too fast.

“I always am, Dad!” Jonas rolled his eyes. Rip winced internally, he remembered the days when it was Daddy, and without the annoyance. Pretty soon he’d lose his son all together to the teenage years.

“Yes I know, but I still have to remind you. And remember, no matter what Len says, you’re not allowed to learn how to pick locks.”

“It’s a handy skill to have,” Len interrupted.

“And no playing with knives even if Sara makes it look cool,” Rip continued.

“We promise not to corrupt your son when you’re gone. Now leave already!” Sara whined.

“I promise I’ll take good care of him, Rip,” Kendra reassured him.

“Why are you going again?” Jonas asked.

“I told you, I have a date. Is that alright?” Rip asked gently. He couldn’t date if his son didn’t want him to. Even if he did spend the rest of his life as a bachelor.

Jonas shrugged, “I guess. Can I tell Mommy?” There was a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Absolutely not, your mother does not need to know about any of this. And that goes for all of you!” Rip looked at them, his eyes stopping on Sara longer than necessary as she pouted innocently.

“Right then, I suppose I should head off,” Rip stood up and clapped his hands, “Don’t burn my house down, please.”

“No promises,” Leonard quipped. Rip grinded his teeth together to stop himself from replying.

“Is that what you’re wearing?” Kendra asked.

Rip looked himself over, it wasn’t bad. He figured he’d keep it rather casual as it was a first date. Dark jeans, nice shirt and a dark jacket on top. No need to overdo it for now. But Kendra was the nice one, if she had a comment then it was sincere.

“Why? What’s wrong with it?” Rip asked.

“Nothing! Nothing! It’s fine, I swear. Besides, you’re going to be late. You should go,” Kendra nodded to herself before shooing him out the door. Rip huffed as he suddenly found himself locked out of his own house facing his front door. He really needed new friends, even the nice one wasn’t that nice. But now he had to go meet Isabel Rochev, maybe one date wouldn’t be all that bad?

* * *

 

It was bad. From the second he saw her it was bad.

“Isabel?” he asked as he reached the assigned table and found a woman already sitting there.

The woman gave him a glance over, “Oh,” she said rather disappointedly. Well then.

“Rip Hunter,” he tried again and reached out his hand to shake hers.

“Isabel Rochev,” she didn’t smile and her hand was limp like a dead fish.

“You’re late,” she commented.

“Right, sorry about that. Had a bit of trouble getting out of the house.”

“Clearly you couldn’t be bothered to wear a proper suit,” Isabel muttered more to herself.

“No, I couldn’t,” Rip said. Perhaps colder than he had intended.

He sighed, “Right, sorry. I really am sorry. I didn’t mean to make a bad first impression.”

“Well it’s certainly not a good one. I’m a busy woman, I have a company to run. I can’t be bothered to date if the man isn’t going to put in some amount of effort.”

Luckily Rip was saved from answering by the wine list arriving. After that it was stilted conversation for the entirety of the meal. Isabel liked the fancy and expensive wines and the pricey items on the menu. Which was all nice and fine, except Rip knew he had to pay and there was only so much he could afford after signing Jonas up for all the summer camps coming up.

And she was cold. At first Rip chalked it up to being a woman breaking the glass ceiling, he understood to some extent that it was difficult. But she didn’t smile, not even once. It wasn’t like Rip was always the happiest person ever, but it would have been nice to have someone counterbalance him. Miranda had always been good at that. Her crazy had counteracted his levelheadedness. And it continued with Isabel picking at little things in his appearance – his beard, the slight wrinkle in his jacket (which he must have gotten from hugging Jonas) and so on. And she didn’t even seem to find any of it rude on her end. It was rather irritating.

“You have a son?” Isabel asked surprised over dessert.

“Yes, I thought you would have known that,” Rip frowned.

“I glanced over your profile during my work hours, I didn’t have time to go into the minor details,” Isabel waved it off. His son was not a minor detail.

“I can’t say I ever had the urge to have a child, it would simply take too much time away from work. I’m amazed your wife stayed as long as she did before leaving to advance her career. It’s rather impressive.”

“Right,” Rip breathed evenly, ignoring the comment about Miranda.  “Is my having a child going to be an issue?”

“I don’t see why. There are plenty of boarding schools available. Have you considered one in France? Their curriculum is excellent and he would be closer to home I imagine with the English accent.”

“Boarding school?” Rip repeated. The psycho lady wanted to send his Jonas to a boarding school across the ocean on the other side of the world.

The check couldn’t come fast enough.

* * *

 

By Monday at noon he was rehashing the entire story for Iris again.

“And then she suggested boarding school. As if I’m going to send my son halfway around the world because she wants it,” Rip seethed.

“That bitch!” Iris agreed, “My dad raised me on his own, best dad ever. Like hell he would ever let some woman decide what happened with me.”

“Your child comes first, every time.”

“Obviously, you’d think people would know that by now. I mean even if you don’t like or want children, you’re supposed to respect other peoples’ choices and decisions. You did the right thing,” Iris assured him.

“I know I did.”

“So I’m guessing the date didn’t go well?” Curtis asked tentatively as he skittered out of his office.

“No it did not,” Rip sighed and fixed him with a look.

“She was a child hating bitch. Try again, Curtis,” Iris informed him.

“Or not at all. We can just call it good now, can’t we?” Rip asked hopefully.

“One month, that was the deal,” Curtis reminded Rip as they went back to his office, “I still have more time and chances. So Isabel didn’t work. Let’s refine then, shall we? What went wrong?”

“Other than her hating my child before even meeting Jonas?” Rip asked sarcastically, “She was just too cold. Too business driven.”

“Okay, you did say you valued independence,” Curtis reminded him.

“Yeah, but not like that. Not to the point that you don’t care for other people. I don’t mind that she runs her own company, good for her. I know she worked hard to get there, but that can’t be all she wants. She should want like me at least a little bit.”

“Alright, more emotional. I can work with that. Any other requests?”

Rip hesitated before finally adding, “I want the next date to be at Verdant. My friend is the bartender there. At least if something goes wrong she can help.” Sara was rather intimidating.

“Alright, drinks at the bar. Sounds like a fun Saturday night!” Curtis enthused. Rip simply groaned, he had a feeling this just wasn’t going to work out.

* * *

 

Sure enough a week later he was trudging along behind the war path led by the Lance sisters.

“I want to speak to someone who’s in charge around here!” Sara yelled as she entered the lobby. Rip winced, she always did like making a dramatic flair. She chose to date Leonard after all.

Iris stopped her typing and looked up at the two furious women in front of her. The blonde had her hands on her hips and the older one had her arms crossed and her lips pursed. Iris darted a look behind them at Rip who mouthed ‘sorry’.

“What seems to be the problem?” Iris asked sweetly. Her dad was a cop after all, she knew how to handle herself.

“His date. That’s the problem!” Sara yelled again. This time Curtis appeared from his office with all the commotion.

“Why? What happened? You wanted more emotional, this girl said she wanted a have a serious relationship. Start a family. I thought that would be good, you know, given that you already have a kid and all?” Curtis gestured to Rip.

“Yes well, Carrie Cutter may have taken it all a little too seriously,” Rip winced as he recalled the night’s events.

“That’s sugarcoating it. The woman is a psychopath who went from talking about marrying him one second to slipping something into his drink five minutes later,” Sara enlightened them.

“She did what?” Iris’ eyes widened, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I didn’t have the drink,” Rip assured her.

“Because I was able to warn him and call security on her,” Sara said.

“That’s not possible, we take our security very seriously around here. All applicants have to pass multiple psychology tests and only then do we even consider taking them on into our dating pool,” Curtis insisted.

“Yes, well clearly, she slipped through the cracks. Look, she was slightly deranged and seemed to think I was her soulmate and she was some sort of Cupid that could make us be together. It was all a bit overwhelming to say the least,” Rip said.

“Look, these are not the services we expected or are paying for,” Laurel finally spoke up, “Who’s in charge around here?”

“Laurel’s a badass lawyer, she will sue the daylights out of you if she has to!” Sara warned them.

“I don’t want to be sued,” Curtis said quietly.

“Sued? Who’s getting sued? We cannot afford a lawsuit right now. Or ever!” a new woman hurried into the room as fast as she could in her high heels.

“What’s happening?” she asked, “Iris, why are we being sued?”

“Curtis set Rip up with a psychopath,” Iris responded.

“Curtis did what now? No, that’s not possible all our candidates go through-”

“Multiple psychology tests. Yes we know,” Laurel finished for her, “Are you in charge?”

“I’m one of the people in charge, so to speak. Felicity Smoak, nice to meet you,” Felicity smiled as she held out her hand to shake there’s. Neither sister seemed to think a greeting was necessary.

“Right, okay then,” Felicity dropped her hand and turned to Rip, “What was the person’s name?”

“Carrie Cutter.”

Felicity straightened her glasses and pulled at her ponytail before grabbing her tablet and tapping away, “Well she has no prior convictions, nothing to suggest any sort of previous psychotic breakdown.”

“Of course she wouldn’t, I did a thorough background check as per protocol,” Curtis pointed out.

“Well she is not allowed in our door, ever again!” Felicity tapped victoriously on her screen, “Ha! Let’s see how you like that. It’ll be a little hard to search for true love from the nearest mental institution!”

“What – what did you just do?” Laurel asked suspiciously.

“Oh nothing, I just told Wellington’s Mental Hospital they were missing a patient,” Felicity smiled deviously.

“Is that legal?” Rip asked.

“That one’s a lawyer,” Iris sing-songed as she pointed at Laurel.

“It’s you know, more of a grey sort of area,” Felicity fidgeted after Iris’ words, “I’ve never broken the law, I mean technically speaking. I mean there was that – no wait, not saying anything. I have the right to remain silent!”

“Well I’m not a lawyer, and I definitely thought it was awesome,” Sara applauded the blonde while Laurel chastised her sister.

“Is it always like this?” Laurel turned to Iris.

“Honestly, they’re great for whenever there’s a customer that’s overly rude or if I want new shoes. They found these fantastic cyber deals somehow. I mean look at these!” Iris walked around from her desk to show off her purple suede high heeled boots.

“Oh those are nice, I want shoes like that,” Laurel commented.

“I can definitely hook you up,” Curtis told her.

“I hate to change the subject, but surely there’s some sort of escape clause that says I can get out of this if I get put on a date with a psychopath,” Rip asked.

“I mean you can stop whenever you want, but you don’t get your money back,” Felicity told him.

“That’s fine with me!” Rip raised his hands ready to quit.

“Absolutely not. No chickening out, Hunter. We paid good money, we’re getting results,” Sara admonished him.

“Can you sue them now?” Rip asked Laurel.

“No. We all agreed that it’s time for you to start dating again. You had a couple of bad dates, you’ve got a couple more weeks. Work it out,” Laurel said.

“I like you,” Felicity handed Laurel a business card, “Seriously though, can we keep you as a lawyer on file. Because that would be great.”

“We’ve never even been sued. And – no offense – but we don’t even know if she’s a good lawyer,” Iris frowned as Laurel took the card.

“I have a good feeling about her. Now, Rip Hunter, let’s see if we can get you sorted and matched up. My office is this way if you want to follow me?” Felicity began to turn beckoning him.

“Wait, he’s my client. I’m his matchmaker!” Curtis argued.

“Yeah, and you set him up with a psychopath. And Isabel Rochev. She’s all kinds of wrong. So now I’m taking him. I mean not taking him, taking him, that’s not what I meant! I meant you’d be my client not anything else that you might have thought,” Felicity’s voice got higher pitched as she backtracked.

“Right,” Rip drew out the vowel in the word. And he thought Curtis talked a lot.

“Yeah but-”

“Curtis, no. Go call Paul or grab lunch with Winn. He’s mine now. I mean not-” Felicity got cut off.

“Don’t worry, I got it,” Rip raised a hand to stop the onset of words as he followed her to the offices with the Lance sisters following him

“Fine then! I can tell when I’m not wanted!” Curtis yelled at their retreating steps. Felicity threw him a thumbs up as Iris comfortingly patted his back.

“Right, now given that customer satisfaction is obviously something we strive for here,” Felicity grinned at them, “I’ll give you my personal number. That way on the off chance something does go wrong, you can call me right then rather than having to wait until Monday to tell me. But I’ve been looking over your responses and I’ve tweaked our code a little bit and I think I’ve found a good one for you. Not crazy, promise!”

Rip sighed, here we go again, he thought.

* * *

 

“So how was your date with the banshee?” Iris asked first thing as Rip walked in the next Monday.

“Felicity told you?” Rip asked as he leaned against her desk.

Iris folded her arms on her desk and leaned forward on them, “She might have mentioned it. I had to assign you a new matchmaker. So, did the girl really scream like a banshee?”

Rip winced, his dates really weren’t going well. He was three for three now, and his month was almost over. Surely he could stop now and finally go back to spending his Saturday nights with Jonas. No need for Kendra to be around all the time anymore.

“Siobhan was a very nice girl,” Rip started. That much was true at least for the first half of the date, “But I just made the comment that she was slightly young for me and it sort of just…set her off.” It wasn’t his fault, she wasn’t super young but probably a near decade younger than Rip. And all he could think of was how that age difference made her far too close to Jonas’ age. So he told her, she made a scene and Rip escaped and called Felicity immediately.

“She screamed?”

“More like wailing and screaming. Just full on waterworks, stop laughing!”

“Sorry,” Iris tried to quiet down between trying to breathe, “It’s just that I really don’t think anyone has had this much bad luck with dates. You’re like a bad penny.”

“Yes well, my month is almost up anyhow. Surely I can stop now?” Rip pleaded.

Iris shook her head, “One month in and you still aren’t even trying. No wonder you keep having bad dates.”

“This isn’t all on me, clearly the matchmakers aren’t doing their jobs properly!”

“Don’t insult my friends,” Iris threatened him with her pen, “Besides, if you really want out, this next one can let you out of your contract.”

“Really?” Rip asked surprised.

“Yup. Gideon owns the company; wrote the code that started it all. And would you look at that, it’s time for your appointment. Down the right, last door on the left,” Iris pointed down the hall.

Rip nodded and headed off in that direction, a little spring in his step. Finally, someone that could get him off this hell ride. He just had to convince this Gideon that he wasn’t meant for dating, surely with Rip’s track record with the company he’d believe it. Rip knocked on the already open door, not seeing anyone.

“Hello?”

“Be right there!”

Rip nearly flinched at the sound. He had been expecting a man. But that was most definitely a woman’s voice. And British at that.

“Finally!” she spoke again. Sure enough a second later a woman popped up from behind the desk and quickly typed something into her desktop, “Just one more second, I promise. Just need to finish editing this piece of code really quick!”

“Of course, take your time,” Rip nodded although she wasn’t even looking at him. He took the time to examine her, this was the woman who owned the company and could get him out of his contract.

“There we go!” she stepped away from her computer and looked up at him with big eyes as she pulled her dark hair from out of the bun it was currently in, “Sorry about that. Hello, I’m Gideon.”

“Rip Hunter,” he introduced himself as he took her outstretched hand in his own.

“Hello Mr. Hunter, pleasure to meet you. Have you had lunch yet?”

“Sorry, what?” Rip asked confused. This wasn’t how his meetings usually went.

“Lunch, the meal between breakfast and dinner eaten in the middle of the day?” Gideon spelled out for him as she grabbed her laptop, “Either way I haven’t had anything to eat yet. So come on.”

Gideon walked out of the room and Rip had no choice but to hurry after her.

“But where are we going?”

“Lunch, I already said. My treat obviously, don’t expect too much though. I like the restaurant across the street and they make decent sandwiches and soups. We can talk there. Hi Iris, we’re going out to lunch, grab my calls, would you?” Gideon greeted her friend as they walked past her.

“Sure thing, have fun!” Iris called after them, laughing to herself at Rip’s puzzled face. He had no clue what he was getting into.

* * *

 

“Right then, what are you thinking?” Gideon asked as she looked over her own menu, her laptop propped open in front of her.

“I think I’m very confused,” Rip replied drily.

Gideon finally took a good look at the man sitting across from her. He seemed rather put off and tired as he rested his cheek in his palm and looked openly at her.

“Yes, I imagine there’s a little bit of that happening,” Gideon admitted, “I suppose you haven’t had the best luck with our matchmaking services.”

“A child hater, a psychopath and a banshee? What gave it away?” Rip asked sarcastically, “Besides, I meant lunch. This doesn’t normally happen.”

“Normally people don’t have such terrible dates. Think of it as an apology. And besides, I wasn’t lying, I really am hungry. And unfortunately lunch time is the only time you ever schedule appointments,” Gideon looked at him pointedly.

“I work. And I have a son to look after, I don’t have any other free time to do this ridiculous online dating matchmaking thing,” Rip chewed her and her company out. Besides, his coworkers were beginning to wonder where he was off to every Monday. Especially Nate, he was always super nosy.

“Of course not,” Gideon didn’t say anything else as the waitress came by to take their orders. Once the menus were handed over, Rip spoke again.

“We could just make this easy on the both of us and you could let me out of the contract with a refund. No harm, no foul,” he tried.

“Absolutely not.”

“Why the hell not?” Rip glared at her.

Gideon simply smiled, “Because I’m usually right about things. And I’m right about this when I say given enough time we – or rather I – can find you the right match.”

“What even makes you think you’re qualified enough to do that?” Rip asked again.

“I have a degrees in psychology, statistics and computer science. Trust me when I say I know what I’m doing,” Gideon stated as she took a sip of her water.

“Did it work for you?” Rip asked, genuinely interested.

“What?”

“The matchmaking software of whatever, did it work for you?” Rip asked as he crossed his arms waiting for an answer.

Gideon blushed slightly, “Actually, I’ve uh, I’ve actually never used it on myself. Though, Felicity says she’s made my profile.”

“You’ve never used it yourself?” Rip repeated.

“When you make something and you want to test it, the last thing you do is have yourself as a test subject. There’s sure to be some bias otherwise,” Gideon informed him.

“Right, have any of the others used it?” Rip tried again.

“Iris and Curtis found their boyfriends using it. Or rather, Curtis’ husband now, I suppose.”

“Right Barry,” Rip said to himself, “She mentions him a lot. Have you ever had a look at your own profile?” Rip asked curiously.

“Never really wanted to,” Gideon shrugged, “I mean, what if it says I’m completely incompatible with everybody? I don’t want to know that.”

“I highly doubt that’s true,” Rip chuckled, trying to remember he didn’t want to be here, “Besides you made it, isn’t that a rather pessimistic viewpoint?”

“I’m an orphan that never found a family, of course it’s pessimistic but at least I have an excuse,” Gideon crossed her arms.

“I was adopted, I get it to some extent,” Rip admitted after a beat. Before his mother took him in he was living on his own on the streets half the time, “I’m sorry I didn’t mean-”

“Don’t apologize,” Gideon said sharply, “It doesn’t really matter anyways, didn’t mean to tell you that. Besides what’s your excuse?”

“Excuse me?” Rip asked. Gideon didn’t answer right away as the waitress brought out their food and set it in front of them.

“You have been nothing but downright tedious since you started with us. It’s like you don’t even want to do this,” Gideon said.

“Finally, she gets it!” Rip threw up his hands, “No, I don’t want to do this.”

“Why is it so hard for you to want to be happy?” Gideon asked.

Rip frowned, he had never thought of it that way. He wasn’t averse to being happy, he wasn’t. He just had more important things to worry about than his own happiness. Looking after Jonas, his work, keeping the house in order, plenty of other things. His own personal life sort of just took a backseat to it all.

“What makes you think I don’t want to be happy?”

“Every time you do a personality test you give different response to what you like and I’m half convinced you do it on purpose,” Gideon eyed him suspiciously.

“I don’t necessarily do it on purpose,” Rip scratched his beard awkwardly. Or at least he hadn’t meant to, he just figured if they didn’t find him a match they’d let him out of it.

“People never do anything honestly, this is why I prefer computers,” Gideon sighed to herself.

“Right which is why you’re taking all the humanity out of falling in love and pushing it into code,” Rip grumbled.

“You’re really determined to be difficult, aren’t you?” Gideon stared at him.

“Yes I suppose I am,” Rip crossed his arms daring her to push him.

Gideon simply smiled, “Alright then, let’s play a game.”

“What?” Rip blinked. He had been wrong, dead wrong about this woman. She wasn’t going to be his savior, she was made of steel. She wouldn’t bend or break for him, no matter how sweet she seemed she wouldn’t give him an inch.

“Clearly you don’t take personality tests properly so we’re going to play a game to find out more about you. So choose: coffee or tea?”

“Tea, obviously.” Rip replied instantaneously.

“Good Brit then,” Gideon nodded in approval, “Books or movies?”

“Books, always.”

“Computer or paper?”

“Paper, how is any of this helping?” Rip interrupted.

“Well I now know that you’re probably the type that prefers to stay in on a Friday night reading or playing board games rather than partying it up,” Gideon grinned at him.

“How could you know that?” Rip scrunched up his face in confusion as he recalled his previous free night doing just that.

“Psych major, remember? Also you’re clearly behind the times preferring paper to computers. It’s the twenty first century, there are smartphones now.”

“I’m the museum director, I like the old stuff,” Rip leaned forward on his arms.

“The one on Fifth Street? That’s actually rather impressive,” Gideon admitted.

“Thanks. I live to please you after all,” Rip gestured at her dramatically. Clearly he needed to stop spending so much time with Leonard.

“Funny,” Gideon mused, “Now then, ooh blonde or brunette?”

“Seriously?”

“Answer the question, quickly!”

“I don’t know, that’s a really stupid question! My ex-wife was a brunette and the last serious girlfriend before that was an angry Scottish ginger,” Rip rattled off.

“Scottish? Clearly it was doomed from the start. Did she constantly remind you she was Scottish?” Gideon chortled.

“Every single day actually, never let me forget it,” Rip admitted with a wry smile of his own.

“Pick anyways.”

“Brunette I suppose,” Rip sighed eyeing Gideon’s own brown hair.

“Hmm, I was blonde once, never doing that again,” Gideon said more to herself, “Alright fine, we’ll move on shall we. Word association: Party.”

“Birthday,” Rip answered immediately. It was the only kind he had these days for his son.

“Drinks”

“Scotch.”

“Never been able to handle the hard stuff properly myself,” Gideon shared, “Beach.”

“Sunburn.”

“Poor thing, you don’t have much fun do you? Not that I can judge any, I can’t remember the last time I had a proper day off,” Gideon frowned to herself before shaking herself out of her thoughts, “Love”

“Jonas,” seeing Gideon’s arched eyebrow he explained, “My son.”

“Ah, he’s very lucky to have a good father like you,” Gideon smiled softly.

“I certainly hope so,” Rip admitted. Sometimes it was rather daunting doing this parenting thing all on his own. Miranda came by sometimes, but it hardly seemed like enough.

“Of course. Continuing on: annoying.”

“You,” Rip answered with a slight quirk on his lips.

Gideon looked up from signing the check and scoffed, “Oh that’s cute. No wonder you’ve been such a hit on your past dates. But it’s hardly the worst thing I’ve ever been called.”

“Really and what would that be?” Rip asked as he got up and started following Gideon out.

“I believe during our break up my last ex-boyfriend yelled I was ‘a work obsessed, heartless, robotic bitch’ I believe that’s an exact quote.”

“That certainly seems like a bit much, I’m sure you’re not a robot,” Rip teased trying to lighten the mood.

“Well you’d never know, now would you? They did a fantastic job in building me,” Gideon played along, “Besides, in the end I won anyways. I froze his bank accounts and might have put him on the watch list for airport security” Rip stared at her, somewhat terrified of the woman in front of him, but he couldn’t deny that the man had deserved her wrath. He was actually rather impressed.

“Fancy a walk before heading back? I have some more questions,” Gideon continued.

“Still?” Rip sighed as they headed down a path shaded by trees.

“Yes still. Mainly, what is your one big thing that you can’t compromise on?” Gideon asked.

“I don’t know, that’s a tall order.”

“Everyone has something, that one thing. Come on.”

“Well what’s yours?”

“This isn’t about me, it’s about you. You meet your soulmate one day, how do you know she’s it?” Gideon stopped and turned to look at him.

“Jonas would love her,” Rip blurted out.

“Now we’re getting somewhere,” Gideon nodded.

Rip grabbed her arm before she could keep walking, “I mean he has to love her. But she has to love him too. Probably even more than she loves me, my son has to come first. Always.”

“Alright then,” Gideon nodded understanding and then dropped her gaze to where Rip was still holding her.

“Right, sorry,” Rip let go of her as if she had burned him.

“Now, any pet peeves?”

“Meaning?”

“You know, the little things that build up and then start to irritate you. Like I absolutely hate it when a man persistently calls me ‘baby’.” Gideon clenched her fist to show her anger at the endearment.

“Really?” Rip asked.

“It gets really annoying when someone is supposedly trying to apologize to you and can’t be bothered to use your real name,” Gideon explained offhandedly.

Rip nodded accepting it for what it was and thought it over before answering, “Making a mess of my things or trying to clean up after me. I have an organized system of chaos. I like it that way.”

“Ah, I suppose your son never gets told to clean his room then?” Gideon teased.

“Actually he does, and quite often. I’m not looking forward to the day he learns the word ‘hypocrite’ actually,” Rip replied casually.

“And what about sex?”

“That’s a little forward don’t you think? I mean I’ve only just met you and you only paid for one meal so far,” Rip joked.

“So not on the first date then?” Gideon pushed past the humor.

Rip stopped and looked at her seriously, “I have a ten year old to worry about. I don’t really have time to bring anyone home or spend the night out. So no, not right now. And not until I know it’s serious.”

“Thank you, that’s good to know,” Gideon nodded and hugged her laptop to her chest and tucked her chin over it.

“Now I’d love to stay, but I really do need to get back to work now. My coworkers keep wondering where I disappear off to,” Rip admitted.

“You haven’t told them?” Rip merely shrugged so Gideon moved on, “That’s fine we can be done for today. But I still have more questions before I can find you a proper match. When else is a good time other than lunch?”

“Unless you’re willing to do late night visits, never.”

“Really? Never?” Gideon raised an eyebrow.

“I’m at work all day and barely get enough time to spend with my son as it is. And now the weekends are being taken up by all this incessant dating. So yes, late at night when he’s off to bed.”

“Alright, that’s fine. Give me your phone,” Gideon reached out her hand. Rip obliged automatically.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m putting my number in so you can reach me whenever. And now I’ve sent a text to myself so I have your number as well. I’m not letting you out of this, so if you haven’t called or texted me by Thursday I now have the means to make your life hell. And I should warn you, I’m more hands on than my colleagues are if you hadn’t already noticed.”

“This seems like an awful lot of work considering my time limit is up in just over a week,” Rip pointed out.

“Yes about that, I’m readjusting your time limit Mr. Hunter.”

“What? You can’t do that.”

“I own the company, I can do whatever I like. Six months, starting from now.”

“Six months, that’s insane. No!”

“Why are you so scared to be happy?” Gideon asked again, “Six months, Mr. Hunter. That’s all I’m asking. Six months and I promise I’ll find you your perfect soulmate, or you get all your money back and get to walk away from me. But my code is never wrong, and neither am I. I’ll find you a match. Just give me six months.”

Rip sighed and rubbed his temples, “Alright, fine. Six months, and then that’s it. And you should probably call me Rip by the way. You might as well if I’m going to be shackled to you for the next half year.”

“Glad you agree, Rip,” Gideon held out her hand for a goodbye handshake which Rip responded to, “I better hear from you soon.”

* * *

 

“So how was lunch?” Iris asked the second Gideon walked in.

“Better than expected, honestly from what Curtis and Felicity said I expected someone horrible,” Gideon mused.

“I didn’t say he was horrible,” Felicity declared as she and Curtis walked in, “I said he was hard to match. And I have too much financial stuff to worry about. So I gave him to you. I mean not gave him, gave him. He wasn’t mine-”

“Yes Felicity, I know. Still I have a lot on my plate as it is, I don’t even work with clients anymore. Most of them find me, what was it? Oh yes, ‘emotionless’.”

“Some people are just so mean,” Curtis shook his head.

Gideon smiled at his solidarity, “I expected the worst from what you two said. But he was really quite, nice.”

“Nice?” Iris questioned. She’d admit Rip Hunter had some highlights, but it hardly discounted the fact that he was still a pretty prickly person to deal with.

“Yes, nice. He has a good sense of humor, if a little dry. He’s a good father, and he’s smart and rather handsome. On paper he’s rather perfect, actually,” Gideon said more to herself. How had he not been matched up properly yet?

“Yeah, but then you try and put him on a date and it all just falls apart,” Felicity pointed out.

“You don’t even like Isabel. And that Cutter woman should have been arrested honestly,” Gideon stopped her train of thought, “Siobhan was the only one even remotely fine but apparently she doesn’t handle rejection very well.”

 “Even you have to admit, he’s not the easiest to get along with at first. Even with your cool exterior,” Iris continued.

“Maybe, but those girls were hardly compatible for him in the first place.” No wonder all his dates had gone to hell.

“Which is why we gave him to you!” Felicity said, “So that you could find him a match.”

“Yes, and I contend he’s perfect for someone out there. He might not be Iris’ Barry Allen, but he has someone out there for him. Even if it does take a while for me to find her,” Gideon insisted.

“Well speaking of perfect men,” Iris said, “Ray called again. He wants to talk about the flowers.”

“Didn’t he already call this morning?” Curtis asked.

“Yes he did,” Gideon said tiredly as she took the note from Iris, “You can just send me an email you know, Iris?”

“Yeah but I like the little frown you get whenever I leave post it notes in your office,” Iris smiled.

“How many times is Ray going to call? Surely as the groom he can do something, right?” Felicity asked.

“You would think,” Gideon laughed to herself, “But he does have to do the flowers himself. I’m not helping on that one. Right, I have to go call Ray and then deal with things, I’ll be in my office,” Gideon nodded at them before walking away.

“Hey Gideon,” Felicity called after her, “What’s the time limit you gave him?”

“Six months,” Gideon paused in her steps.

Curtis let out a low whistle as Felicity continued, “Seriously, it’s never taken you that long. Ever.”

Gideon shrugged, “He’s a tough client. And besides, that’s the guarantee. It might be less than that, I am good at my job.”

“Yeah, but if you know if you need help-” Curtis started.

“I know,” Gideon said knowing she wouldn’t go to them, “But paperwork gets boring. And I certainly like a good challenge.” Gideon winked at them before walking away.

Six months. Let the countdown begin.

 


	2. Month One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You don’t take no for an answer very well, do you?” Rip questioned.  
> “That word is not in my vocabulary,” Gideon attested. Rip laughed. She was as stubborn as he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the love on the first chapter. I hope this next one lives up to your expectations and I hope you enjoy it!

“Dad! Someone’s at the door!”

Rip sighed as he walked out of the kitchen where he had been cleaning up to find his son on the couch watching TV.

“Oh, well by all means don’t strain yourself to go answer it,” Rip said sarcastically.

“You said I shouldn’t open the door for strangers though,” Jonas pointed out.

“Right, I did say that,” Rip muttered. Darn his own good rules, “Right then, there’s no rules against helping clean up. All the leftovers are put away. Mind wiping down the counters for me while I go answer the door?”

Jonas huffed but got up to do as he was told. Rip chuckled to himself and ruffled his son’s hair as he walked by then he walked over to the front door. Who would be here so late at night?

“Well it’s about time you opened the door. What took you so long?” the woman asked as she walked in.

“Sorry, I wasn’t expecting company. What are you doing here?” Rip asked as she began wandering into his home.

“I needed to talk to you about something. Wait is that cake? Did you bake?” she turned around and looked at him wide eyed.

“Could we please get back on topic please?” Rip sighed as he rubbed his temples.

“Sure, but first,” with that she began heading over to the kitchen.

“Hey! Hey, wait!” Rip followed after her just barely grabbing hold of her as they reached the kitchen where Jonas was finishing cleaning up, “You can’t have any!”

“Why not? Hi Jonas,” she said belatedly.

“Hi Laurel,” Jonas greeted.

“You finish your homework properly?” Laurel continued. Being Sara’s big sister for so long was enough to make Laurel feel like a second mother at times.

“Yup.”

“Even the math?” Laurel asked.

“Yes,” Jonas sighed, “It’s a stupid subject anyways.”

“No it’s not,” Rip chided. Though, being a history and classics major himself he couldn’t quite understand the point of maths, but he couldn’t let his son know all that, “It’s an important subject to know.” For some reason. It had probably helped Rip out somehow in life.

“You need any help?” Laurel offered.

“No, it’s fine. Kendra helped me already. Can I go watch TV now, Dad?” Jonas asked again.

“Alright, but not too long. You’ve got school tomorrow and you need to go to bed soon,” Rip reminded his son. Jonas nodded before running off to watch his shows.

“Why am I not allowed to have any cupcakes?” Laurel crossed her arms going into lawyer mode as she jerked her head in the direction of the counter where the desserts were on display.

“Those are for Jonas’ bake sale tomorrow. Kendra and him made them after school today, so no you can’t have any,” Rip pulled out his dad voice, “But you can help me put the icing on the last few. And you can tell me why you’re here while you’re at it.”

Rip waited until they were both properly situated in a nice rhythm of icing the cupcakes before he spoke again, “So what was so important that you felt the need to come to my house late on a weeknight?”

“It’s like half past nine, it is not that late,” Laurel responded.

“I have a child to worry about-”

“He’s out there watching cartoons.”

“I’ll decide what’s late, thank you very much,” Rip frowned. He really needed to make sure Jonas got to bed on time properly, “So what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, just wanted your advice on something. Those matchmaker services you’re using? They actually called me. They wanted to keep me on file as their lawyer, just in case. It would mostly just be looking over their clauses and making sure the wording is right. You know, make sure they completely avoid being sued or something just in case.”

Rip nodded, “And what did you need to talk to me about with this?”

“I was wondering if you thought it was a good idea. I mean, I know we sort of forced you into doing this whole thing, but you’ve also had some pretty bad dates from it. I want to make sure I’m not representing some hack job company,” Laurel shrugged.

Rip nodded as he put the icing away and carefully covered the finished cupcakes. When he was done he leaned forward on the counter and looked at Laurel, “So you want my opinion on them?”

“Basically. I mean, Iris had a point, they barely knew anything about me and they were willing to hire me on the spot. It seems a little sketchy to me. Which makes me worried about how much we paid them.”

“You’re a rather high profile lawyer these days and they’re tech geniuses,” Rip shrugged giving them the benefit of the doubt, “They probably just looked you up and then ran algorithms to see what type of person you are.”

“Rip, I need advice, not your opinion on online dating,” Laurel interrupted him.

“Alright, then I think you should do it.”

“Seriously? I thought for sure you’d say no,” Laurel frowned.

“Did you want me to say no?” Rip asked confused.

“I don’t know what I wanted, but I think I’d like to do it?” Laurel asked somewhat unsure.

“Well if you want to do it, you should,” Rip encouraged. He knew it was her long-term goal to have her own practice someday.

“You think?”

“I think they’re sincere. While I’m still not entirely sure I buy into the whole ‘find love using computers’ thing, I think they think they’re helping people. So they mean well.”

“Well you’ve certainly changed your tune. What happened?” Laurel asked giving him a hard stare.

“Nothing happened,” Rip shrugged. Under Laurel’s incessant staring Rip insisted, “Nothing happened. I just, I got a new matchmaker. The woman who runs the entire company and wrote the code, so I suppose I have a better understanding of it all now.”

“You’re such a bad client they bumped you to the top of the company?”

“You spend too much time with Sara,” Rip glared.

“She’s my sister.”

“Still too much time.”

“Is she somehow magically going to find you a match in like three days?”

“No, Gideon readjusted my timeline. Six months.”

“Gideon? That’s one of the people I talked to on the phone,” Laurel mentioned, “She seemed nice.”

“Nice enough,” Rip shrugged. A little blunt, but he appreciated honesty. And that she wasn’t as over-energized and peppy as Curtis and Felicity had been, “A little demanding though. I’m supposed to call her by Thursday or she’s probably going to hunt me down.” At this point, Rip didn’t exactly doubt she would do just that.

“And have you called her?”

“Not yet,” Rip admitted.

“Rip! It’s Wednesday, call her!”

“Well not tonight! I’m sure she has a life of her own. I certainly do besides this matchmaking business.”

“Well call her tomorrow,” Laurel glared, “It’s for your own good, so you better call.”

“Yes, Mum,” Rip rolled his eyes.

“Fine, be like that. I need to go anyways. And you’ll need to put Jonas to bed,” Laurel started walking out of the kitchen slowly enough for Rip to follow her.

“She’s right, bedtime, Mister,” Rip called to his son. Jonas sighed but turned off the TV and gave Laurel a hug and said his byes.

“I’ll be up in a minute,” Rip promised his son before sending him up the stairs. He walked Laurel to the door and waited, “Right then, good night.”

“Call her.”

“I’ll consider it.”

“Rip!”

“Alright already. I’ll call her, just stop. Good night,” Rip nodded.

Laurel hesitated a moment before giving him a quick hug. Her arms were around him and off before he could properly respond. She placed a hand on his shoulder and looked at him, “We’re doing this because we care. You do so much for Jonas all the time, someone should worry about you full time too. Call her.”

* * *

 

Rip somehow made it to lunchtime with only twenty texts and two voicemails from his various friends telling him to call Gideon. Laurel must have decided to tell both Sara and Kendra as the three of them had bombarded him with texts that morning: Laurel’s were stern, he could almost hear the yelling in Sara’s texts and Kendra’s were just emotional blackmailing at this point. No one could be that nice and still demand so much of him. It wasn’t fair, and it made him worry about his son having Kendra as a fulltime babysitter. But then again, Jonas seemed to be adjusting well enough.

Rip waited ten minutes into his lunch break before finally sighing and pulled out his phone. He scrolled through his contacts until he found the one he was looking for. He frowned when he saw it, “Gideon”. No last name, how odd. But anyways. He chose the contact and waited two rings before she picked up.

“I was getting worried I was going to have to track you down somehow,” Gideon greeted.

“You gave me until Thursday and I’m calling aren’t I?” Rip mused as he leaned back in his chair, “Besides I doubt it would have been hard to track me down anyways with your computer skills. You’d probably just hack something.”

“I could,” Gideon admitted, “But it’s just so time consuming. And highly unnecessary. You already filled out the paperwork when you started with us, I know where you work and live. Remember?”

“Nothing ominous about that,” Rip quipped.

“Right, sorry. I haven’t actually worked with a client in a long time, I suppose I’m a little rusty,” Gideon apologized.

“It’s fine. Now did you have questions for me? And could we just do it over the phone instead?” Rip pleaded.

“I do have questions. And no, not on the phone. The whole entire point of having a matchmaker is to make the experience more personalized.”

“Doesn’t that mean you should listen to the suggestions I make?” Rip teased.

“Mr. Hunter-”

“Rip. I told you to call me Rip.”

“Right sorry, I’ll remember that.”

“You’re not saying my name though,” Rip pointed out. Most people would have repeated the name to remember it for the next time.

“Yes well, I’m not exactly alone at the moment.” Rip was surprised to find that Gideon sounded somewhat irritated as she spoke, “And I do value client confidentiality believe it or not. So unless you’re alright with me divulging all your personal secrets in front of complete strangers, we are not having this conversation over the phone.”

“Right then, no phone. I suppose this means I’ll have to carve out part of my schedule in the weekend again?” Rip sighed.

“No that’s fine. I doubt I could get you a date by this weekend anyways, so you might as well enjoy it with your son,” Gideon admitted, “Any time next week work for you?”

“Tuesday?” Rip offered.

“Tuesday works. I’m not giving up my lunch breaks though, so it would have to be at night,” Gideon warned.

“What ever happened to customer satisfaction?” Rip questioned.

“It’s my company, my rules. I can do what I want.”

“That seems a little unfair.”

“So is life,” Gideon muttered.

Rip laughed as Gideon hurriedly apologized. Honestly he enjoyed this part of her that wasn’t constantly optimistic and gung-ho on finding his ‘soulmate’. She had the same dry humor he did, and she was one of the few people that could understand his sarcasm. It made the torture far more entertaining.

“I usually try and send Jonas to bed around nine,” Rip said.

“Then I’ll come by eight? I have some questions for him too.”

“What could you possible need from my ten-year-old son?” Rip asked worriedly.

“Don’t question my methods.”

“Gideon,” Rip said seriously, “He’s my son.” Sure, Gideon seemed nice enough. But at the end of the day, he was basically inviting over a stranger and now she wanted to meet his son.

Gideon sighed, “Please calm down. You said it yourself that he has to love whoever you date. I want his opinion on possible dates. It seems rather pointless to set you up if he doesn’t even like the woman.”

“Right,” Rip breathed, “Sorry I just-”

“Overreacted?” Rip winced at the teasing tone in her voice, “Don’t worry about it. He’s your son, of course you would be overprotective. I’ll see you Tuesday at eight?”

“Yeah, Tuesday. That’s good. Bye,” Rip hung up.

“Bye Mr. Hunter,” Gideon responded. But it was already too late, he had cut the line and there was nothing but dial tone. Gideon shook her head laughing to herself as she put down her phone. Rip Hunter was definitely one of the tougher clients she had had. Not that she got many clients to begin with.

“Good meeting?”

Gideon perked up, remembering she wasn’t alone at the moment, “Good enough.”

“Great, so lunch?”

“Ray,” Gideon whined, “You know I’m really busy. I’ve got paperwork to do. And now a profile to work on.” Gideon waved at her office to indicate the amount of work she had to do.

“I know that,” Ray acknowledged as he got up from his seat across from her and walked around her desk and rolled her chair away, “But I also think you need a break. And I feel like I haven’t gotten to see you in forever.”

“You see me plenty,” Gideon smiled up at him, “And besides you basically call twice a day to talk about the wedding.”

“Okay, I know it’s a little much, but I just want it to be perfect. After all, you only get married once,” seeing Gideon’s slight crinkle Ray backtracked as he remembered her profession, “I mean some people can obviously get married more than once. But only once for me. I know what I want.”

Gideon smiled and squeezed his hand, “It’ll be perfect.”

“Of course it will be. I’m marrying the love of my life,” Ray agreed smiling at her, “Now come on, lunch? I even got us reservations at that nice French restaurant you love so much.”

“Ray, that place is so expensive. You shouldn’t have done that!” Gideon groaned.

Ray pulled her from her chair and started guiding her out of the room, “Stop acting like you don’t love me for it. Now, just say ‘thank you Ray’.”

“Thank you, Ray,” Gideon grumbled refusing to let him win.

“That’s my girl!” Ray laughed as he slung his arm around her shoulders causing Gideon to erupt into her own fit of giggles.

* * *

 

Rip heard the car pull up into the driveway before the doorbell even rang and immediately opened the door to find a rather surprised looking Gideon, “Hi,” he greeted.

“Hello, are you going to let me in?” Gideon asked after awkwardly standing for a beat.

“Right, sorry. Come on in,” Rip stepped aside to let her in and closed the door behind her. “We can talk in here if you like,” Rip led her to the living room where Jonas was laying on the couch and reading a book.

“Who are you?” Jonas asked curiously as he looked up and saw Gideon.

“Oh yes, don’t start with hello or asking nicely. It’s not like I taught you any manners at all,” Rip sassed his child.

“Sorry, Dad,” Jonas stood up and walked over cautiously to Gideon, “Hello, my name’s Jonas. What’s your name?”

Gideon laughed as she took the hand that was offered to shake and replied, “Hello Jonas. I’m Gideon, I’m your dad’s matchmaker.”

“What does that mean?” Jonas frowned.

“It means that I try and find him someone nice to date,” Gideon explained rather rudimentarily. It wasn’t her fault. Her job was coding, Iris was usually their frontwoman for advertising and such.

“So you’re like a fairy godmother?” Jonas asked as they all sat down on the couch with Jonas in the middle.

Gideon blinked and looked over at Rip who was stifling a laugh, “Yes, I suppose I am in a way.” She rather liked that actually, maybe they could use it to advertise.

“Anyways,” Gideon pulled herself from her thoughts, “I was hoping you could help me pick someone nice for your father.”

“Because the last few dates all involved psycho bit-”

“Jonas!” Rip scolded sharply, “Who on earth told you that?”

“Sara was telling Kendra,” Jonas admitted sheepishly, “But I wasn’t supposed to tell you that.”

“Well don’t you dare say it again,” Rip warned with a sigh.

“Yes well, I admit your dad’s previous dates didn’t go so well. But maybe you can help me sort that out.”

Gideon pulled out her laptop and placed it on her lap and urged Jonas to scoot in closer so he could see the screen too. From where Rip was sitting he couldn’t see a thing, not that it seemed to bother Gideon any, so he decided to just watch his son’s reactions instead.

Jonas seemed far more interested in everything Gideon did on the computer and asked her multiple questions about why she did what she did. Gideon would mostly respond quietly, almost afraid to say the wrong thing. Not that it would have mattered to Jonas, he hung on her every word. Eventually Rip was able to remind the two of them that it was nearly Jonas’ bedtime so they had to get back on track. Gideon on her part responded enthusiastically to all of Jonas’ comments on what he thought about the women Gideon showed him.

“And with that, I think it’s time for bed,” Rip announced when he heard his son yawn as he decided he didn’t like one of the candidates.

“But Dad!”

“Don’t argue with me. It’s a school night. Come on, bed,” Rip pulled him off the couch.

“Alright,” Jonas turned around and looked at Gideon shyly, “Good night, Gideon.”

“Good night, Jonas,” Gideon smiled at him.

Jonas turned to his dad and asked, “She’s coming back, right?”

“I don’t know,” Rip stuttered, “I’m sure Gideon has other things to do.”

Jonas made a sound of disappointment so Gideon stepped in, “If your dad is fine with it, I wouldn’t mind coming back again, Jonas.” The little boy looked up and smiled at that, behind him Rip mouthed ‘thank you’ to her before letting his son drag him out of the room after letting Gideon know he’d be back soon.

By the time Rip had finally gotten Jonas in bed and made his way back downstairs he found Gideon back at work on her laptop. “I think you’re more obsessed with electronic devices than my son is,” Rip commented.

“It’s a part of my job, thank you very much,” Gideon snapped back.

“Of course it is. Now, do you actually need anything from me now that you’ve pumped my son for all that information?” Rip asked as he sat next to her, his arm stretched out on the back of the couch like it had been when Jonas had been separating them.

“He’s a good kid,” Gideon complimented, “And yes. I think I have your next date. Take a look.” Gideon placed the laptop halfway on each of their laps so Rip could look properly.

“Caitlin Snow. She’s a scientist at StarLabs. Smart, pretty, your son liked her profile, brunette,” Gideon listed off attributes.

Rip quirked his lips, “I never actually said I preferred brunettes, you made me pick, remember? And my son is ten, he likes videogames and Lego also. And I’m not sure about a scientist, I work with old things all day, what would we have in common?”

“Stop trying to poke holes at everything. Haven’t you ever heard of opposites attract?” Gideon scolded him, “I predict a ninety-two percent chance of it working out with her based on my algorithms. And just think, you could be rid of me so quickly!”

“I’m still not sure,” Rip insisted.

“Oh come on, a little trust in me please? She’s rather perfect.”

“If she’s so perfect, why don’t you date her?” Rip rolled his eyes.

“I thought Jonas was the child, not you,” Gideon shot back.

“Yes, well apparently when you’re raising a child you tend to become one yourself,” Rip responded somewhat embarrassed, silently apologizing for his behavior.

“Clearly,” Gideon huffed and leaned back and accidently bumped Rip’s arm, “Sorry.”

Rip moved his arm off the back of the couch, “It’s fine.”

They both sat there for a beat or two of complete silence before Gideon finally turned to him and spoke, “Give her a chance. Please? She could be the one.”

“Fine,” Rip groaned, “Besides, you said yourself if she is the one then I get rid of you.” Rip’s easy going smile and light tone bellied the harshness of the words so Gideon had to smile back at the teasing.

“That’s right, Mr. Hunter. So I’ll set something up for the two of you?”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Rip surrendered, not even bothering to correct her on not using his first name.

Gideon glanced at the clock and turned back to him, “It’s getting late. I should go so you can get some sleep.”

“Right, that would be good,” Rip nodded ignoring the feeling of disappointment, “We both have work tomorrow.”

Rip walked her to the front door, “Good night then.”

“I’ll call you about your next date,” Gideon reminded him, “Good night, Rip.”

* * *

 

Sure enough Gideon called later on in the week to confirm his date and yet another Saturday night was taken away from Rip.

“You look so handsome,” Sara cooed.

“I hate you,” Rip responded automatically trying to remind himself that he wasn’t allowed to murder any of his friends. That would end in jail time, and that wouldn’t be good. Even if they did deserve it.

“You look really nice,” Kendra smiled beside Sara. Once again his house had far too many people considering the fact that he wasn’t even going to be here for the next few hours.

“Any comments from the two of you?” Rip asked the remaining adult occupants of the room.

“You look absolutely adorable,” Leonard said without even looking up from the game of monopoly he had going with Jonas.

“Why don’t you ever wear a suit on your dates?” Laurel asked strictly.

“I don’t have that many and what I do have I save for work,” Rip shrugged.

“I feel like your matchmaker should be here helping you get ready. Aren’t they supposed to make everything more personalized,” Kendra asked out loud.

“Or maybe she just sees me for the adult I am and thinks I can take care of myself,” Rip responded.

“Clearly she hasn’t spent enough time with you. Give it time,” Leonard said without looking up.

Sara grinned at her boyfriend while Rip glared before saying, “Right, I have to go now.”

“Bye Dad,” Jonas got off the floor and gave his dad a hug which Rip kneeled down for, “Don’t worry. I think you look fine. I hope she’s nice,” Jonas whispered.

Rip smiled, he had the approval of the one person who actually mattered.

“We all hope she’s nice,” Laurel took Jonas as Rip got up, “We’ll take good care of him. You have a good date.”

Rip smiled the entire way to the restaurant, reminding himself that there was no way every woman he dated would turn out to be crazy. As he parked he vaguely wondered where Gideon was, she had said she’d be around if he needed an emergency to get out of the date.

Rip had arrived first so he settled down and glanced through the menu for something to do. He didn’t have to wait long before his date arrived.

“Hi, Rip? I’m Caitlin,” the woman smiled at him as Rip stood up to shake her hand and they both sat down, “Sorry I’m late. I wasn’t entirely sure what to wear.”

“Don’t worry about it. And you look lovely,” Rip complimented. A part of him wondered if Gideon had those little ear pieces they always had on those TV shows where someone could feed him lines to say. It might help.

“Well thank you,” Caitlin smiled. There was a moment of silence where neither could figure out what to say to the other and Rip worried that this date would be a flop as badly as the rest. Suddenly Caitlin spoke up, “Sorry, I just, are you as nervous as I am?”

“Yes, actually,” Rip laughed, “I think I am. Do you think a drink or two would help us out?” Rip eyed the waiter that had given them waters earlier.

“On any normal instance I would say yes. But I am known for being a bit of a lightweight and it would not make a good first impression at all,” Caitlin told him.

“Well then, straight to dinner then.”

“Or dessert, best part of the meal anyways.”

“My son thinks so too,” Rip commented offhandedly before he realized what he had said. The last few times he had mentioned his son it hadn’t always ended well.

Instead of screaming or dismissing the fact, Caitlin smiled and asked, “Well he sounds great. My friend Cisco would love him. How old is he?”

“Ten, though he enjoys reminding me he’s turning eleven soon enough.” The conversation paused for a moment where the waiter took their orders.

When the waiter left, Caitlin said, “Ah hitting the teenage years soon.”

“Don’t remind me, I try not to remember,” Rip groaned.

“Can I ask about the mother?” Caitlin asked timidly.

“Ex-wife,” Rip answered easily, “She visits when she can.” Sadly, not often enough, but he knew Miranda was rather busy. But she wouldn’t be able to make it home for Mother’s Day and Jonas was somewhat (very) disappointed. But then again, so was Miranda. They would have their skype call though with what limited internet connection Miranda could get, so at least there was that. But Rip didn’t feel the need to explain all this on a first date.

“And your son is alright with you dating again?” Caitlin asked.

“Surprisingly, he’s been rather alright with the entire thing. I’m not entirely sure how much he really understands quite honestly,” Rip frowned to himself thinking about Jonas’ easy acceptance about everything.

“Well at least you felt comfortable enough to start dating and sign up for matchmaking?” Caitlin offered.

“Actually, my friends signed me up,” Rip corrected her. It was best to be honest from the beginning.

Caitlin laughed, “Sorry, it’s just that mine did too. Cisco seems to think I’m a little uptight and working too much, so I think he did it more as a joke. But there’s no refund so I’m being forced to go on dates.”

“About the same happened with me. No refund unless they don’t find a match, so I’m stuck with six months of blind dating,” Rip sighed.

“I’m stuck with four so I’m not sure I’m much better,” Caitlin told him.

From there the rest of the conversation that evening flowed easily. They discussed who their matchmakers were, how they felt about online dating, Rip talked about his son a lot, Caitlin briefly mentioned her father had passed away and she didn’t have the best relationship with her mother. But she was easy to talk to, and not another crazy person.

She reminded Rip a little of Laurel, the mother hen of the group always needing to get things in the right place and take care of everyone. He wasn’t sure what it meant that Caitlin reminded him of a close friend rather than making his heart jump like when he had first met Miranda, but of all the dates he had, she was the best. So by the end of the night he had her number and promised to call her sometime in the next week.

* * *

 

“I didn’t think I’d get to see you back here again!”

“Hi Iris,” Rip greeted the smiling secretary as he walked up to her desk and leaned against it, “I didn’t think I’d be back either. But Gideon wanted to talk about my date so I figured I’d drop by. Is she in?”

“She is, but she might be a little busy. How was Caitlin?”

“Surprisingly normal. It was rather refreshing,” Rip admitted.

“So is there going to be a second date for once?” Iris asked.

“Maybe, what happened to client confidentiality? Shouldn’t only Gideon know all of this?” Rip asked.

“Oh please, Gideon doesn’t hire people she doesn’t trust. Besides all the matchmakers have to talk to each other to get the dates set up between their clients, so everybody knows what’s up with everybody,” Iris explained, “And besides, Caitlin happens to be a good friend of Barry’s so she’s a good friend of mine. This one is personal to me. You better not hurt her.”

“Aren’t there rules against involving personal relationships with work relationships,” Rip asked trying to ignore her glare and threat.

“It’s a matchmaking company, we know everybody, Rip,” Iris said slowly, “If we were to lessen our dating pool based on who we were friends with then there wouldn’t be too many choices.”

“Fair enough,” Rip tapped her desk, “Anyways, I’m going to see Gideon. Is she in her office?”

“She is, but she’s got a personal appointment,” Iris called after him.

“I’m her client,” Rip shrugged carefree, “I come first.”

He continued down the hall ignoring Iris’ warnings and marched up to Gideon’s office. The door was slightly ajar so he knocked on it only for it to open all the way where he could see Gideon in an embrace with another man.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt,” Rip apologized as the two of them broke apart.

“Mr. Hunter, I wasn’t expecting you today,” Gideon said.

“Right, I probably should have called, but I figured it wasn’t that far of a walk for me. And I told you to call me Rip.”

“Good luck with that,” the other man snorted, “She still calls me ‘Doctor. Palmer’ sometimes, even after forever.”

“Only when I’m annoyed with you,” Gideon muttered.

“Rip Hunter,” Rip introduced himself.

“Ray Palmer,” Ray shook his hand then turned back to Gideon, “Client?”

“You know I can’t tell you that,” Gideon rolled her eyes.

“Yes,” Rip answered ignoring Gideon’s surprised look.

“Well then, I’ll let you go back to coding and using a computer to find true love,” Ray said with a smile.

“Ray,” Gideon’s tone was bordering on warning and anger.

“Sorry,” Ray raised his hands looking somewhat sheepish. He turned to Rip to explain, “She hates it when I talk bad about her code. I just have a hard time believing that a computer actually finds your soulmate. But I digress, it’s not my place, I leave that in the hands of the expert. And I have to go anyhow.”

“Bye now, Doctor Palmer,” Gideon said.

“And that is my cue to really leave,” Ray grinned at Rip, “It was nice meeting you, good luck to you. Don’t listen to me, you’re in capable hands.” Ray paused at the door before turning back, “I’m going. Don’t forget, Saturday at eight so I’ll pick you up at seven, okay?”

“Alright,” Gideon nodded, “You can leave now. Or go bother Felicity.” Ray laughed and turned out of the doorway. Gideon rubbed her face with both her hands and sighed before looking up at Rip still awkwardly standing in the doorway, “You can come in. Feel free to close the door behind you.” Rip did just that and sat in the chair at the desk across from Gideon.

“I think you have a type,” Rip blurted out.

“Excuse me?” Gideon looked away from her computer at him and gave him a confused smile.

“You have a type. They’re all just overexcited little puppies, I swear,” Rip explained, “Curtis, Felicity, Ray.”

Gideon quirked her lips, “Maybe I do attract a certain kind of person. It’s not like you’re any different, from what I’ve seen everyone you hang out with is somewhat terrifying to be around for extended amounts of time.”

Rip shrugged, he couldn’t deny that fact. “So Ray doesn’t believe in algorithm matchmaking?” Rip asked slowly.

“Doctor Palmer doesn’t understand half the coding I do, of course he doesn’t believe in it,” Gideon stated monotonously while looking at her papers.

“Well I suppose he could have been a little nicer about it,” Rip mused.

Gideon looked up and stared at him. Seeing that he was completely serious she started laughing, “Are you serious? You? You’ve done nothing but complain since you got here about how what I do doesn’t work.”

“Yeah, but, I’m a stubborn client. He’s…” Rip trailed off not wanting to finish and just gestured at Gideon vaguely hoping she understood what he was trying to say, “He should be supportive of your work.” Any boyfriend should be supportive.

“He’s supportive enough,” Gideon said succinctly. That conversation was clearly over, “Now, how was your date?”

“Surprisingly good,” Rip admitted.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Gideon beamed, “Caitlin seemed rather sweet.”

“She was nice,” Rip agreed. Then he blurted, “Were you there on Saturday? Because you said you would be, but I had no clue where you were.”

“If you knew where I was then I wouldn’t be doing my job correctly,” Gideon pointed out, “I was there. There was a coffeeshop a few buildings down the street where I was able to work on things. I figured it would be close enough if you needed anything. But you didn’t.”

“No, I didn’t,” Rip agreed.

“So, second date?”

“Yes, I think so. I just haven’t gotten the chance to call her yet. It was Mother’s Day on Sunday and Jonas was upset that his mum couldn’t come visit,” Rip explained.

“I’m sorry,” Gideon said a little unsurely, “Was she busy with work?”

“Yeah, Miranda’s an archaeologist so she’s at the dig site in Turkey right now. She travels a lot for work.”

“Is Jonas alright?”

“He’s fine,” Rip waved off, “He got to call his mum and we took my mum out for lunch.”

“That must have been nice,” Gideon murmured. Rip almost hit himself when he remembered that Gideon was an orphan.

“Did you do anything fun over the weekend?” Rip asked trying to smooth things over.

“Went on the date with you and then stayed home working on things the rest of the weekend. Did we not already establish that I’m a workaholic with no life?” Gideon asked somewhat jokingly.

“Well according to my friends, I’m not much better, so I’m in no position to judge,” Rip assured her.

“Well the whole entire point of this is about you,” Gideon reminded him, “So, second date. When are you going to call her? Or is she calling you?”

“I’m calling her, I probably will today.”

“Make sure you do,” Gideon warned. He had no doubt this woman would make his life miserable if he didn’t.

“I will. I was thinking Saturday night since that seems to be the regularly planned date night, but I suppose you already have plans,” Rip recalled Ray’s earlier reminder.

Gideon looked up from where she had been typing something on her computer, “Do you need me there with you? You already know the first date went well and she’s not crazy.”

“No, I suppose I don’t,” Rip frowned as he realized Gideon had a point. If things worked out, technically speaking he’d never need a reason to see Gideon again. All of this was just a means to an end after all.

“Well feel free to plan your next date for whenever you want, but I don’t recommend waiting too long. Call her soon,” Gideon told him.

“I will,” Rip stood up awkwardly, “Well I suppose that was all I needed. Thanks I guess.”

“Rip? Do remember to call me and let me know how it goes, won’t you?” Gideon asked as he reached the door.

Rip turned around, “Yeah, of course. I suppose I’ll see you then?”

Gideon nodded, “Of course. I’ll be here. I always am,” she sighed as she looked back at her computer screen. Rip took that as a dismissal and left without another word.

* * *

 

“You are all going to destroy my house, I swear!”

“Calm down, Rip. It’s game night. It’s not our fault we haven’t played in forever,” Sara gave him a pointed look from where she was seated in Leonard’s lap. On the floor Lisa was setting up the board with Jonas and glanced over at her brother and shook her head every once in a while. Rip shared similar sentiments.

“It is somehow your fault since you all signed me up for matchmaking in the first place. Thereby cancelling Saturday game nights for who knows how long,” Rip enlightened them.

“Well maybe if you picked one we’d all have our Saturday nights back,” Lisa spoke up from the floor. Rip shot her a look of betrayal, she should have been on his side! Instead she was far too much like her brother.

Laurel and Oliver returned from the kitchen with snacks and drinks (Laurel brought soda for herself and Jonas) when the doorbell rang. Jonas shot up to go answer it and dragged Kendra into the living room.

“Sorry I’m late,” Kendra announced, “I’m surprised we’re doing this. It’s been forever.”

“You already missed us getting mad at Rip about it, but you’re welcome to start another round,” Sara offered as she leaned back against Len so he could kiss her. Both Lisa and Laurel had to look away at that.

“Traitors, every last one of them,” Rip whispered at Kendra.

“I missed game night too,” Jonas said aloud.

“We all did,” Kendra tucked him into her side. She looked around the room and asked, “Where’s Jax at? And Thea?” Kendra added.

“Thea is working the bar tonight and wants us all to know that she hates each and every one of us with a burning passion for having game night without her,” Oliver told the group.

“And Jax isn’t coming either. That professor at college he and Wally work under? Stein? His daughter’s coming back from where ever she was so Jax and Wally are going with him to give her a sort of ‘welcome back’ surprise,” Laurel explained Jax’s absence.

“Can’t believe he has friends other than us. It hurts,” Leonard said.

“Do you miss him?” Sara asked Kendra slyly as everyone settled into their usual seats. Kendra looked away and refused to speak.

“How about you leave the matchmaking to the actual matchmakers?” Rip chastised Sara.

“Speaking of matchmaking, how is it going for you?” Oliver asked.

“If it’s going good then we’ll sign Ollie up next!” Laurel said ignoring his protests.

“Fine,” Rip shrugged, “The last woman was very nice and we’re having another date tomorrow.”

“I thought we were going to the park?” Jonas piped up.

“We are,” Rip promised, “I’ll just be there with Caitlin as well. And Oliver and Kendra can play with you for the first little bit?” Oliver and Kendra both nodded that they’d be there.

“Well at least Gideon gets good work done,” Laurel nodded, “Not that I’m surprised. She seems to work all the time.” She remembered calling the woman late at night and still having her pick up, and Laurel thought she was dedicated to work.

“Well I suppose she’s taking a little bit of a break tonight. I think she’s on a date with her boyfriend,” Rip said. He hadn’t meant to say it. Gideon’s personal life was her own business. But it had somehow just got out of him.

Laurel raised an eyebrow ready to ask another question when Jonas interrupted them, “Enough talking! I wanna play!”

“He’s absolutely right!” Lisa scooped up Jonas and dragged him to her side despite his squirming and yelling and declared, “Enough gossiping about your matchmaker’s love life. It’s game night, prepare to lose!”

“Oh it’s so on!” And just like that the room exploded into yelling and cheering and laughter. Another normal Saturday night, how it should have been.

* * *

 

“So be honest with me, you don’t actually feel anything for me. Do you?”

Rip looked over at Caitlin as they continued walking down the park path, both of them with an ice cream in hand. The second date had gone over rather well Rip had thought. They had lunch and then a walk in the park and as before it was easy to keep up a conversation with Caitlin. Perhaps that’s why he felt so blindsided by the question.

“This seems like a rather heavy conversation for ice cream,” Rip avoided the subject.

“It’s okay if you do. To be quite honest, I’m not sure I feel anything much either.”

Rip let out a sigh of relief he had no idea he had been holding in, “That’s surprisingly a relief. It’s not that I don’t enjoy your company. There’s just no…”

“Spark?” Caitlin asked.

“Exactly,” Rip nodded. He knew she was a smart woman, “When you meet someone you like, you’re supposed to be downright giddy. And it’s not that I’m not happy to see you, but about as happy as I am to see any of my friends.” It was true, once the initial nervousness had faded, Rip didn’t feel anything he hadn’t felt for any of his female friends.

“Definitely,” Caitlin agreed, “After all, I’d like to think there are signs for when you meet ‘the one’” Caitlin did air quotes, “Like with you I thought it would be more fun, you know, opposites attract? Like, I don’t know, fire and ice. And we get along great, but there’s really nothing more than that.”

“So no more dates?” Rip summarized.

“I don’t think so,” Caitlin smiled apologetically.

“Friends though?” Rip held out his hand with a smile.

“Definitely,” Caitlin took his hand happily.

“Well in the nature of friendship, I should let you know that my son and some of my friends are around playing Frisbee or football – soccer, whatever you want to call it – or something. I was going to go join them, but you’re more than welcome to come with?” Now that there was no pressure of dating Caitlin, Rip didn’t feel worried about Jonas meeting her and whether or not he’d like her. So all the more, the merrier.

“That sounds like a lot of fun actually,” Caitlin nodded.

The two of them walked through half the park until they finally found Oliver and Kendra (and surprisingly Lisa) playing catch with a football. On the way over Rip convinced Caitlin to invite her own friends so she wouldn’t feel singled out in the least. Kendra of course took this as permission to invite Sara as well while Jonas gave his dad a hug and Rip introduced his son to Caitlin.

Sara managed to arrive with Thea in tow the same time Iris showed up with two other men. Apparently it was going to be a rather large group all together. Belatedly, Rip wondered if maybe he should schedule more playdates for Jonas with kids his own age. But nobody in his group of friends was hardly mature enough to be called a real adult (maybe Laurel and Kendra but that was about it).

“Rip, this is Cisco and Barry – Iris’ boyfriend,” Caitlin introduced the two strangers while Iris clung to Barry’s arm.

“So what are we playing?” Barry asked.

“I think we have enough people to play a little game of football, the American kind, Rip,” Oliver announced. Rip rolled his eyes but agreed.

“Sounds good, but I’m pretty fast, man,” Barry warned them.

“Dude’s like lightning, I swear,” Cisco said.

“He’s exaggerating,” Caitlin rolled her eyes as Iris laughed at their antics.

Eventually it was decided that Oliver and Barry would be team captains and they had to mix up the friend groups. Though Caitlin and Jonas chose to sit out a couple of rounds and simply watch the game. Every now and then Rip would join them and make sure Jonas was alright and Caitlin would go back in to play.

Towards the end of the day Iris came by and sat next to Rip. “So, no more dating Caitlin?” Iris asked.

“Afraid not. I didn’t break her heart by the way, it was mutual,” Rip let her know remembering the earlier threat.

“Yeah, she said that too. I guess I wanted to make sure she didn’t break your heart either,” Iris said.

Rip raised an eyebrow, “You care about my feelings too?”

“Of course I do. We’re friends now too. And I gave her the same speech I gave you. I’m all for equal opportunity thank you very much,” Iris informed him. Rip felt rather touched by the gesture.

“I liked Caitlin,” Jonas said a little sadly. Rip almost considered asking her out again because of that tone.

“I do too. Which is why we’re friends now and I’m sure if you ask nicely she’ll be around more,” Rip told him. And the opportunity presented itself as Caitlin sat down next to Iris and Jonas spoke up.

“So if you’re all going to be part of the group, does that mean you’ll be around for game nights?”

“I’m totally down for game nights,” Iris announced excitedly, “My brother and I have epic game nights. So be warned, I always win.” Caitlin laughed and agreed that she’d enjoy it as well.

“Should I be worried about Cisco and Lisa over there?” Caitlin pointed in the distance where the two of them were packing up all the equipment.

“They do seem rather friendly. Though mind you, he’ll have to go through Len, her brother, first,” Rip said.

“Cisco being threatened by an older brother,” Iris mused.

“This I would love to see,” Caitlin laughed.

“I thought he was your best friend?” Rip asked. At times he thought Caitlin might have harbored feelings for her male friend, but at the end of it he realized they were just that. Friends.

“He is. He also signed me over to the matchmakers, no offense Iris,” Caitlin looked at her friend who waved it off.

“Fair point,” Rip agreed, “I suppose we should let them pair up and watch them suffer a little with all the interrogations.”

Caitlin nodded and looked to Iris, “Honestly, you should hire us.”

Iris laughed, “You two couldn’t handle what we do!”

* * *

 

“Where are you going?”

“I am just leaving my office, am I not allowed to leave my office now?” Gideon asked aloud.

“Yeah but you never leave early,” Felicity shot back, “Never.”

“Honestly if I hadn’t been to your apartment I would have thought you slept here,” Curtis added as he stood next to Felicity and watched their boss leave.

Gideon sighed, “I need to go see Rip. He hasn’t been answering my calls. I’m not leaving, I’m still working. The world continues to spin, don’t worry.”

“Yeah, but maybe you should take a break at some point, you know?” Felicity asked unsurely.

“Between paperwork, a new client, the wedding, you’ve got a lot on your plate,” Curtis nodded.

“Work is the same as ever, I have one client. I can handle it. And the wedding is the least of my concerns at this point, just don’t tell Ray that,” Gideon updated them.

“I can imagine his puppy dog look of heartbreak now,” Felicity mused with a far off look in her face, “Sorry. Not helping.”

“No, you’re not. Now if you’ll excuse me. I’m going to go and see if I can catch my client before he leaves his own work.”

“You driving?”

“Walking, it’s close enough. Which is why I really do need to go now. Ms. Smoak, Mr. Holt,” Gideon nodded at them.

“Last names, the ultimate dismissal,” Felicity shook her head. Gideon merely laughed and walked off.

She speed-walked as fast as she could to the museum. She had never actually been to it but she knew the general location of the building, and it was definitely large enough to spot from afar. By the time she reached the museum, Rip was already on his way down the steps.

“Mr. Hunter, I was hoping to catch you,” Gideon scurried up to him somewhat out of breath.

Rip looked up in surprise, “Gideon, I wasn’t expecting to see you here. I’m on my way out actually.”

“Yes, I can see that. But you wouldn’t respond to my calls so I had no choice but to come find you.”

“Right, sorry. It’s been a really crazy day. And it’s Friday which means I get to pick Jonas up so I don’t really have time for this,” Rip apologized.

“Well I’ll come with you then,” Gideon invited herself along and followed him down the rest of the steps to his car.

“Excuse me? Can’t this wait?” Rip asked as he unlocked the door and opened the driver’s side and threw his stuff into the back seat. Gideon simply got into the passenger’s seat without another word. Rip huffed and got into the car as well.

“I have to pick up my son from school,” Rip reminded her.

“So you’ve said. And it sounds like you were in a hurry so I suggest you start the car and get moving. Trust me, you don’t want to waste your time arguing with me,” Gideon gave him a sharp look.

Rip sighed but did as he was told. He waited until they were on the road before he asked, “So why did you need to come and see me?”

“Laurel called me actually. Apparently you don’t have any suits, so we’re going to buy you some,” Gideon answered simply.

“I have suits!” Rip scoffed.

“You’re not wearing one right now,” Gideon pointed out.

“I only really wear them when I need to be out on the museum floor or when I have an important meeting,” Rip told her.

“Ray wears a suit every day to work,” Gideon said to herself.

“I’m not Ray Palmer,” Rip reminded her as his hands unconsciously clenched around the steering wheel.

Gideon looked over at him, “Of course not. Wouldn’t want you to be anyways. But you still need a suit for date night, it’s a requirement.”

“It seems rather ridiculous to worry that much about a first date when I may never see the person again. Besides, isn’t it what’s on the inside that’s supposed to matter?” Rip asked.

“Of course it does. But first impressions matter too. If a woman has to go through all the effort of putting on makeup and finding the perfect dress for a man, then he can put in the same amount of effort. We’re buying you a suit, Rip.”

“You don’t take no for an answer very well, do you?” Rip questioned.

“That word is not in my vocabulary,” Gideon attested. Rip laughed at that as they pulled up at the school. She was as stubborn as he was.

“Come on, get out of the car,” Rip told her.

Gideon did as she was told and joined Rip where he was sitting against the hood of the car. She looked at all the parents milling around, some of them sitting in the car and others standing outside waiting for their kids like Rip was. Every so often a woman would smile and greet Rip while looking over at Gideon curiously. In one such instance one of the ladies was direct enough to ask who she was, to which Rip responded she was a friend.

Gideon watched amused as the woman walked away, “Question for you.”

Rip looked over at her tiredly, “Of course you do. Alright, fire away.”

“Would you be against dating a woman who has kids of her own?” Gideon asked.

Rip stayed silent for a few moments, his jaw clenched a little. Gideon placed a hand on his arm to bring him back to focus. Rip looked at her hand then at her, “Would it be bad if I said yes?”

“Why would that be bad?” Gideon asked.

“Because it makes me sound rather hypocritical. Here I am as a single parent waiting for some perfect woman to accept Jonas into her life and I’m not willing to do the same.”

“And why can’t you?” Gideon responded patiently.

Rip rubbed his face with his hand before answering, “It’s hard enough keeping up with one child. And he’s fine with me dating, but that doesn’t mean he would be fine with potentially having a step-sibling.”

“Do you want to get married again?” Gideon asked suddenly.

Rip shrugged, Gideon’s hand fell off as he did so, “I don’t know. Clearly the first marriage didn’t work out. But I would like to have a stable relationship. Maybe not marriage, but something close to that. And I don’t think I’m ready to have another child just yet.” Gideon nodded realizing that Rip was the type of person to open his heart fully, it was all or nothing with him.

“What about you?” Rip asked. At Gideon’s confused glance Rip clarified, “Marriage? Kids? Ever given it any thoughts?” He thought of Ray and wondered just how serious they were. Perhaps if the two got married and Rip remained friends with Gideon he’d get an invite (and maybe he would have a plus one that Gideon had set him up with). After all, at this rate it didn’t seem like Sara and Len were going to tie the knot any time soon, so it could possibly be the only wedding he could go to.

“Never really given it much thought, I’m not so sure I’d be good with kids anyways,” Gideon murmured dismissively.

“Well Jonas likes you well enough,” Rip told her.

Gideon smiled, “Well thank you. It’s because his father raised him properly. Hopefully this means he’ll enjoy going shopping with us, I was serious about buying that suit.”

Rip began waving to the sea of kids as they flooded out of the school with the last bell, “Clearly.”

“It’s a shame you don’t want to date single mothers though,” Gideon stated nonchalantly as Rip followed his son through the crowd with his eyes. Rip spared her a confused glance before looking back at Jonas getting closer, so Gideon clarified, “There are a lot of single mothers here who clearly find you rather attractive.”

Rip snorted, “What?” Seeing that Gideon was serious he gave her a disbelieving look, “How would you even know that?”

“Psych major, remember? Besides, they’re rather obvious about it and you’re clearly blind.”

Rip didn’t have any time to respond as Jonas ran up to them and Rip bent down to give his son a hug.

“Hi Gideon, what’re you doing here?” Jonas asked while he held on to his father.

“I was hoping it would be alright if I took you and your dad shopping for a bit?” Gideon asked politely.

Jonas looked up at his dad who nodded at him and looked back at Gideon. He shrugged, “Sure that would be fine. Can we buy videogames?”

“Alright,” Gideon accepted. It wouldn’t be too hard to coordinate between clothing and videogames. It would take a little more time but she could spare a little while. Gideon thought it over as they settled into the car with Jonas in the backseat.

“You’re not getting any more new videogames. I know for a fact you and Jax are still playing the last one Oliver bought you,” Rip announced as he started the car.

“It’s really not a big deal,” Gideon insisted, “I could pay-”

“It’s not about the money,” Rip rolled his eyes as he pulled onto the road, “He doesn’t need it. Trust me.”

“Alright then,” Gideon quietly agreed trying to ignore the little boy’s pout. Rip was the father after all, and Gideon was just…there.

* * *

 

“I’m bored.”

“Surprisingly enough I heard you the first three times,” Rip silenced his child. This was why he tried not to run errands with his son. Without fail he would lose interest within the first hour. Though the truth was even Rip was getting a little annoyed and tired now. Although he had to admit Gideon was doing a rather good job keeping Jonas entertained.

“Well what do you think of this one?” Gideon asked Jonas as she had for the all of the previous ones. Gideon maintained that Jonas’ opinion was most important anyways so he should get veto power on everything.

“Um, I liked the black one better. Dad already has one like this,” Jonas told her.

Rip shrugged in his grey suit, “I have another grey one. Though I think it’s a different shade of grey.”

“Still, if Jonas think’s it’s the same it’s probably not worth the money to buy the same thing. Okay we’re keeping the black one then. Two more to try on. We’re not leaving until we find you two suits,” Gideon said.

“Of course we’re not,” Rip rolled his eyes and headed back to the changing room. When he got out of what he had been wearing and into a new suit and came out to display himself he found Jonas tapping away on Gideon’s tablet with her watching over his every move.

“Jonas!”

“Gideon said I could play games,” Jonas whined. Rip gave Gideon a sharp look that would normally have even Sara cower a little bit.

Instead Gideon rolled her eyes, “He’s been good for a very long time, I figured it was the least I could do. Besides, everything important has been safely locked away. I’m a tech genius, don’t worry about it. Everything is fine. Except that suit. What do you think Jonas?”

Jonas looked up at his dad properly and shook his head empathetically, “No way!”

“Well the boy has spoken. Go change!”

Rip sighed but went back to the changing room for one last suit. Then he could hopefully be free of this torture. He changed into the blue suit and pulled on the jacket before heading back out. Gideon seemed to be teaching Jonas tricks on how to play his game.

“Right then, last one,” Rip clapped his hands.

Gideon looked up from where she had been pointing something out to Jonas. She stared at him wordlessly, blinking every so often.

“What?” Rip asked worriedly. Surely it couldn’t have been that bad. He rather liked this one. Jonas looked up at and smiled.

“You look great, Dad!”

“Yes,” Gideon swallowed, “Really great.” Rip smiled and walked over to the mirror to look at himself.

“It’s not so bad, though a little tight,” Rip complained. Behind him Gideon showed Jonas two ties and asked him to pick one. Once he did, Gideon walked up behind Rip and rolled her eyes (he could see her reflection in the mirror thank you very much).

“It’s supposed to be that tight. It’s not my fault you’re stick skinny,” Gideon handed him the tie, “Please tell me you know how to wear one?”

Rip gave her a ‘really?’ look and grabbed the tie, “Of course I know how to wear a tie.”

Gideon shrugged as Rip began tying the tie around his neck, “Well how am I supposed to know? For all I know you could have been one of those husbands that depended on his wife for everything.” Seeing Rip’s warning look, Gideon changed the subject, “Anyways all the same, it’s for the best. I haven’t the foggiest idea how to tie a tie.”

“Really?” Rip asked.

“A tie is hardly a part of my regular wardrobe attire,” Gideon gestured at the dress she was wearing, “Never had to learn.”

“Right,” Rip murmured as he straightened his tie, “What do you think?”

In the mirror he could see Jonas give him a thumbs up before looking back at the tablet. Meanwhile Gideon walked around him once, twice. She stopped in front of him and played with his tie – because there was nothing wrong with it, he straightened it perfectly fine – and went back behind him.

“Stand up straight and show your backbone, would you?” she snapped at him, her hand pushing against his back to make him do so.

“I am,” Rip snapped back shooting Jonas a sharp look to stop his laughter.

“Well you are now,” Gideon muttered.

Rip chose to ignore her. Gideon stood behind him and brushed off his shoulders and grasped his arms before leaning against him and hooking her chin over his left shoulder to look at his reflection in the mirror. Rip was fairly certain she was up on her tiptoes, because she didn’t wear heels and she was nowhere near as tall as him.

“I rather like it, what do you think?” Gideon asked. Rip could feel her breath next to his ear and did his best not to shiver at the closeness. He wasn’t used to this. He normally liked his personal space. Rip tilted his head slightly so he could look at her and raised his eyebrow until she got the message. Gideon’s eyes widened as she realized what was wrong and let go, taking a step back while muttering ‘sorry’ over and over again.

“It’s fine,” Rip dismissed, “And I rather like it. Now that we’re finally asking my opinion.”

“Well Jonas’ is most important, and then mine. Obviously,” Gideon flashed him a smile.

“Obviously,” Rip laughed, “So this one is most definitely a yes?”

“Yes!” Jonas yelled.

“Well he’s spoken,” Rip gave Gideon a look, “So I suppose I’ll go grab the two that I’m getting and meet you up front?”

Gideon nodded and told him she would look after Jonas until he got there. Rip went off to change out of his suit and (finally) into his regular clothes before grabbing the suits he wanted and heading out to the checkout counter where he found Gideon and Jonas, the latter still holding on to the tablet.

“Right then, there’s your total,” the cashier pointed at the screen as she boxed his items. Rip’s eyes widened as he saw the price, he knew it would be expensive but he wasn’t expecting that much. Before he could even say anything though, Gideon whipped out her own credit card to pay for it.

“What are you doing?” Rip asked.

“Paying,” Gideon said it like it was obvious. Which, yes, it was. But not the point of that question.

“Yes, I can see that. Why?” Rip continued.

“I told you I was going to buy you a suit,” Gideon answered unconcerned as she signed the receipt.

“No, I assumed I would pay for my own things,” Rip hissed at her.

Gideon blinked seeing that he was clearly upset over this, “Oh. Well I thought it was rather implied.”

Rip glared as they walked out of the store and he pulled her aside, “I don’t need you to pay for my things.” Jonas was by his side so worked hard at controlling his anger.

“I don’t think you do. What is the big deal? It’s a suit, Rip,” Gideon countered.

“Still, I’m more than capable of paying for my own things,” Rip seethed.

“When’s your birthday?” Gideon asked abruptly.

“What?”

“Your birthday? The date that occurs annually that marks the fact that you were born? You probably had a party for it at some point. When is it?”

“April, what does that have to do with-”

“Well then, happy belated birthday!” Gideon shouted at him.

Rip blinked at stepped back as he spluttered, “You can’t just – that’s not-”

“Now it’s a birthday present. You’re not going to turn that down, are you?” Gideon stepped towards him and put her hands on his upper arms again, “Just accept it, Rip.”

Rip sighed, all the tension leaving his body and looked to Jonas standing at his side, “And what do you think?”

Jonas shrugged, “My birthday is coming up too and I really want this new video game that’s coming out soon.”

As Rip scolded his son, Gideon laughed, “Well I’ll see what I can do about that.”

Rip fished the keys out of his pocket and tossed them at Jonas, “Lead the way to the car, would you, Jonas?” Jonas’s eyes widened as he nodded and began skipping along, causing his father to yell after him not two seconds later to not run too far ahead.

As Gideon turned to follow the boy, Rip grabbed her hand. “You know you didn’t have to do that,” Rip said quietly.

“I know,” Gideon agreed, “But I wanted to. It’s not like you’ve found a match yet. And I know you pay for all your dates. And your friends paid me to find you someone. Buying you a suit was the least I could do.”

“You don’t owe me anything,” Rip said as they walked at a slower pace behind Jonas.

“I know, but it’s hardly a problem. Just accept the gift, Rip.”

“Fine,” Rip sighed. Then he smiled slightly, “Although, this means I get to buy you an expensive birthday present as well.”

“Is that so? Well in that case I’ll be sure to send you a list of what I like,” Gideon countered.

“See that you do,” Rip murmured as they reached the car where Jonas was. Rip suddenly realized he was still holding on to Gideon’s hand and dropped it with an apology.

“Gideon? Your tablet keeps buzzing because people are texting you,” Jonas told her. Rip had forgotten Jonas still had it.

“Is it now?” Gideon asked as they got into the car again, “Well who is it?”

“Um, Felicity wants to hang out? And oh, so does Ray. He also says ‘thanks’,” Jonas answered.

“Maybe you should give Gideon her tablet back?” Rip indirectly ordered his son.

When Jonas tried to hand it back Gideon waved her hand, “It’s fine. If he gives it back to me, I’ll end up working anyways. You can play on it for the car ride, but I’ll need it back when I get dropped off. I’m still parked at work.”

Rip nodded and began driving in that direction before he spoke, “And what about the plans?”

Gideon looked at him, “I’ll text Felicity and let her know I’m available. I should probably have a life outside of work anyways.”

“No Ray?”

“Girls night. He’ll live,” Gideon rolled her eyes.

Rip hummed in agreement choosing not to question her choices. Whether she wanted to be with her friends or her boyfriend made no difference to him. The rest of the car ride was spent in mostly silence with Jonas playing his games and Gideon texting away.

“Right then,” Rip parked the car, “We’re here. Jonas, tablet. Now.”

“Thank you,” Gideon smiled at Jonas as he handed it over. Then she looked at Rip and said quieter, “And thank you.”

“And you. For the suits and everything,” entertaining Jonas, paying for things. The list could go on. Instead he joked, “So, list of presents, are diamond earrings too much?”

“Just slightly,” Gideon laughed before quietly adding, “I do like necklaces though.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Rip smiled at her, his tone warm, “Good night, Gideon.”

“Good night, Rip. And Jonas,” she added before heading out of the car.

“I like her,” Jonas announced.

Rip chuckled, “You know what? I do too.”

And he really did. She was slightly offbeat, but he rather enjoyed that. Perhaps the remaining five months wouldn’t be pure torture. Even if he had to go on more crazy blind dates, at least Gideon would be there right next to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Review/kudos with any thoughts, comments, questions, love! Thanks!


	3. Month Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Is she pretty?” Kendra asked suddenly.  
> Rip blinked, “Yes? I suppose so.” He had never really thought about it. But sure, he would admit Gideon was attractive by conventional social norms. What with the big grey eyes and chestnut waves of hair; sure she was pretty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't usually update this quickly, but plot bunnies and I had time and this AU is consuming my life.

“You weren’t kidding when you said your office was a mess,” Gideon let out a low whistle as she walked in. Rip looked up from the papers he was reading with a frown and found Gideon walking around and touching every artifact within hand’s reach. Jonas always did that too.

“I prefer to see it as organized chaos. I know where everything goes, and I won’t anymore if you keep playing with things. Put that down!” Rip stepped across the room and grabbed Gideon’s hand and made her put down the statuette she was holding.

“Sorry. I got excited, I know you don’t like it. But I’ve never actually been here,” Gideon shrugged.

“Well now you’re just breaking my heart,” Rip looked at her with big eyes. He walked over to his desk and sat in his chair before beckoning her over, “Is this how you feel whenever I make fun of your code?”

“My code is my baby and life changing. You work with old, dead things,” Gideon stated as she sat on the desk edge, swinging her legs until Rip stopped her. Of course she couldn't sit in the chair across from Rip, because that would have been too much to ask for.

“It’s an art and history museum, not everything is old and dead. Have you really never been here?” Rip asked.

“Haven’t had the time or interest, really,” Gideon admitted, “I’m always busy. And my interests are in new technology. Not in the outdated.”

“Everything becomes outdated eventually,” Rip muttered. Then he sighed, “Why are you here anyways? When I said you could stop by if you needed to talk I expected you to call ahead. How did you even get past security?”

“Tech genius. I hacked their systems, set off a minor alarm in the west wing that they had to go check out. Disabled all security checkpoint systems and then downloaded a map to find your office. Not that difficult,” Gideon deadpanned.

Rip stared at her, fighting the urge to reach for his own phone and call security and make sure everything was still running smoothly.

“Please tell me you’re joking?” Rip asked weakly. He knew he didn’t always have a sense of humor, but he was sincerely hoping she wasn’t serious about this.

Gideon laughed loudly, “Of course I’m joking, Rip. I simply told them I had a meeting with you and offered that they call and ask you themselves. Security believed me and sent me up with a visitor’s badge,” she pointed to the badge clipped on at the waist of her dress, “I have restricted access to everything. But I could have hacked the systems if I wanted to, just chose not to.”

“Well I appreciate it. I really don’t need anything else going wrong right now,” Rip groaned and leaned back in his chair closing his eyes. He startled when he felt something soft brush against his cheek and opened his eyes to find Gideon lightly cupping his cheek. Her eyes widened when she realized she had been caught and she dropped her hand with a muttered apology.

“You look rather tired, what’s wrong?” Gideon asked worried.

“Nothing. Just a little stressed. Summer vacation is coming up which means new exhibits for the museum that I have to get us ready for. Which means longer hours and more paperwork. And also Jonas gets out of school soon which means multiple summer camps to keep him entertained.”

“That sounds like a lot,” Gideon murmured.

“It is,” Rip nodded, “But nothing I haven’t done before. Now what did you need from me?”

Before Gideon could reply, there was a knock on the door before a man barged in.

“What’s the point of knocking if you’re going to walk right in anyways?”

“The door was basically open anyways, and I checked your schedule and you had no meetings. Besides, I had a question about the-” the man finally looked up from his papers to notice he was intruding, “And you’re busy. Hello.”

“Yes. It would seem so,” Rip said curtly before gesturing as he gave introductions, “Nate Heywood, Gideon. Gideon, Nate.” Rip frowned as he realized he still didn’t know Gideon’s last name. He really had to fix that.

“We’ve met,” Gideon said coolly, “Hello again, Doctor Heywood.”

“Hi Gideon,” Nate responded. Seeing Rip’s confusion Nate quickly explained, “We all went to college together.”

“Fun times, more or less,” Gideon mused.

“Right. I’ll come back later and let you two get back to, whatever it was you were doing,” Nate stared at their positions with Gideon on the desk facing Rip’s direction. Rip held back a groan and decided not to explain anything as Nate shook his head and continued, “And I’ll see you around Gideon. Bye.”

“Bye,” Gideon sang with a wave of her fingers as Nate walked out closing the door behind him.

“You two don’t get on well?” Rip asked as soon as Nate left.

Gideon shrugged, “About as well as anyone gets on with their ex I suppose. But honestly I just like giving him a hard time. I think he’s slightly afraid of me because of what I can do to his electronic portfolio.”

Rip was still stuck on the first part of the statement, “You two dated?”

“In college. For like two weeks,” Gideon waved it off as inconsequential since it was, “Anyways, speaking of college and love lives, that’s part of the reason I’m here. I was doing some background matching on your next date, Eve Baxter, and the two of you went to the same college. You have two mutual friends on Facebook but from what I can tell it’s not any close friends. I wanted to make sure you were alright dating someone from your past.”

“You could have just asked me if I knew her, I would have told you,” Rip said.

“Yes, but my method is so much more fun!”

Rip quirked a smile at her enthusiasm, “I vaguely remember her. I think we had some of the same classes but honestly not much. So it shouldn’t be too awkward.”

“Good,” Gideon slipped of the desk and stood up straight, “That’s all I needed to know.”

“You came all this way just to ask that one question?” Rip asked with a raised eyebrow.

Gideon blushed, “I might have also been going slightly stir crazy in my own office. I thought it would do me some good to get some fresh air.”

“Aw, Gideon. You know you can just tell me that you missed me,” Rip teased.

Gideon rolled her eyes and clasped her hands over her heart, “With all my heart, Mr. Hunter!”

Rip laughed and walked with her to the door to make sure she didn’t play with anything on her way out. Before she left he grabbed her hand and turned her around to stop her, “If you and Nate only dated for two weeks, why do you remember him so well?”

“Oh, he was Ray’s roommate at the time. It’s how I met Ray. And those two are still thick as thieves so I still see him occasionally,” Gideon explained.

“Right,” Rip swallowed, “It’s getting a little disconcerting how interwoven our two friend groups are.”

“I’ll say. Did Laurel tell you that Iris and her found out that their fathers work together on the police force?”

“Yeah, well Sara mentioned it the other night actually,” Rip confirmed, “It’s a small world, I suppose.”

“Definitely,” Gideon agreed quietly, “Well, your date is on Saturday at seven as usual. And I’ll be around somewhere so don’t hesitate to call. And don’t be late.”

“Right,” Rip ran a hand through his hair, “Well I suppose I’ll see you soon then. If I don’t die of exhaustion first.” He took a look around at all the work he had yet to do.

Gideon laughed her hand briefly resting on his shoulder, “I’m sure you’ll be fine. I’ll see you soon.”

* * *

 

“Eve Baxter, that name sounds familiar for some reason,” Kendra wondered aloud.

“I went to college with her. It might have popped up as a Facebook suggestion every time you decide to use my computer for things,” Rip shrugged as he gave her a pointed look.

“Hey, you said that as long as I babysit I’m free to think of your home as my home,” Kendra said.

“I most definitely said nothing of the sort. Besides, I pay you to babysit. Have you seen my keys anywhere?” Rip asked.

“Oh, well maybe it was Miranda that said it when you were still married. Anyways, rules still apply as far as I’m concerned. And you left them on the kitchen counter when you got home,” Kendra put down the magazine she was looking at to point towards the kitchen. Rip snapped his fingers in remembrance and thanked her as he ran over to grab his things.

“Right, I am wearing a suit for once. Any complaints this time?” Rip asked when he returned, giving her a twirl.

“You look great!” Kendra said.

“I don’t know, you seem kinda stuffy to me,” Jax teased from where he was on the floor playing Go Fish with Jonas.

“Thanks Jax,” Rip said sarcastically though secretly he somewhat agreed. Still, everyone insisted he should wear a suit and Gideon had just bought him some. He preferred the blue one, but he felt black was more traditional and went with that instead. Choosing not to explain all of this, instead he snapped, “Where have you been anyways? You’ve hardly been around lately. Normally I can’t get rid of all of you!”

“I knew you missed me,” Jax teased, “No worries, I missed hanging out here too. There’s always good food to eat.” To prove his point Jax stuffed his face with a cookie Rip and Jonas had baked together earlier. Jonas laughed and stole a cookie from the batch for himself.

“But you haven’t been around in forever,” Jonas commented as well.

“It’s been like two weeks, little man,” Jax ruffled his hair as Jonas tried to dodge him.

“Still, it’s been forever,” Kendra imitated Jonas. Rip doubted she even noticed the slight blush on Jax’s cheeks.

“It’s not my fault. Professor Stein’s daughter is getting married in a few months to some tech guru. And somehow me and Wally got wrapped up into helping out with stuff.”

“Aww, well it’s so sweet of you to help out,” Kendra complimented.

“And if it leaves more food in my fridge then I’m fine with it too,” Rip joked. Though really, sometimes it felt as though he had to cook enough for a small army with his group of friends.

“Thanks, Dad. I really needed your permission, you know?” Jax quipped with a roll of his eyes.

“I need to go now anyways. Give me a hug Jonas,” Rip kneeled on the ground and opened his arms.

“You’re rather quiet today, everything alright?” Rip whispered as he held his son. Jonas simply shrugged and hugged his dad tighter.

“I’m fine,” then he brightened up, “Kendra and Jax are taking me out to dinner today, right?”

“Right,” Rip confirmed, then he looked at Kendra, “There’s money on the-”

“On the side table next to the lamp,” Kendra interrupted with a knowing look, “I know Rip. I have a list of all his favourite restaurants and what the budget is. I’ve done this plenty of times. Seriously.”

“Right, thank you again. And make sure you take care of Jonas, please,” he urged Jax. While he understood the young man had feelings for Kendra and for some reason his house was actually empty for once, he wanted to make sure it was understood that Jonas came first. Jax nodded seriously so Rip decided to take his leave for yet another date.

A while after Rip had left, Kendra and Jax were getting ready to take Jonas out with them when Kendra suddenly gasped.

“Eve Baxter,” Kendra turned to Jax wide-eyed, “I finally remembered who she is! She and Miranda were pretty good friends back in the day. Oh no, poor Rip!”

* * *

 

Never date a friend of your ex. Ever.

Rip learned this rather quickly within the first ten minutes of meeting Eve Baxter. There was some small talk as they discussed how they had gone to the same college and what classes they had together, what professors they hated and so forth. And then came the friend circles, where as it turned out, Eve and Miranda were rather good friends. In the past, or possibly in the present too.

Honestly Rip stopped listening a while ago after the awkwardness seeped in. The conversation lulled. Rip was too afraid to say a word against his ex-wife (not that he would even in normal circumstances) and Eve seemed scared of breaching the subject all together. And suddenly it seemed like they had nothing in common.

Eve didn’t believe in true love but had decided to give the matchmaking a try for the fun of it. Meanwhile Rip most certainly did believe in love (whether he agreed with the methods was a different argument). It seemed to be the same problem with Isabel, work life versus personal life for Eve. Though much more toned down at least.

Rip took the time while Eve was ordering a drink to send an emergency text to Gideon. There was no way he could sit through an entire date of this like he did with Isabel. When asked what he would like to drink, Rip politely declined and went back to sipping his water thinking how much nicer alcohol would have been right then.

The stilted conversation continued for another ten minutes in which even Eve looked rather bored and awkward and like she would rather be anywhere else. Luckily Gideon ran in as their saving grace. Literally ran into the restaurant.

“Oh thank goodness you’re here,” Gideon grabbed him with a frantic wide-eyed look to the point that Rip wasn’t entirely sure whether there was a real emergency or not, “You really have to come quick!”

“Yeah, sure,” Rip said somewhat unsurely but got up anyways.

“What’s wrong?” Eve asked worried herself.

Gideon turned to her with big eyes and looked back at Rip so he could see the split second hesitation before she blurted, “My sister’s going into labor. And he needs to be there because – he’s the only person we know that’s gone through this before. Helped a woman through labor. We need him.”

Gideon began walking backwards and pulled Rip with her. Rip tried not to think about Gideon’s terrible explanation; apparently the woman was absolute bollocks at lying. Still, at least she hadn’t said something trite like him being the father of the baby.

“I really am so sorry,” Rip apologized, “But I have to go. Sorry!”

Rip turned away from Eve’s confused face before she could stop them and hurried out of the restaurant with Gideon. The two kept going outside as Gideon speed-walked pulling Rip alongside her; she didn’t stop until they were a safe three blocks away from the restaurant.

Gideon stopped abruptly and Rip ran into her. Rather than straightening up, he collapsed into a fit of laughter against her. He pulled her close to help keep himself upright; holding her from the side with his arms around her waist as he buried his head into her shoulder.

“Oh god,” he blinked tears out his eyes as he pulled slightly away from her so he could see her face but not enough that he had to let go of her, “I can’t believe we just did that! What was that?”

Gideon blushed before hitting his shoulder playfully, “Shut up!”

“Honestly,” Rip gasped for air, “I expected some sort of text. Or for you to call her matchmaker or something. Not that!”

“Well it was either that or scorned ex-girlfriend and that would have involved slapping you!” Gideon threatened.

“Oh well, thanks for not choosing that,” Rip teased.

“Shut up,” Gideon repeated, “I panicked! I just said what came to mind first.”

“Clearly,” Rip sobered up as he took a step back from her, “It took you a long time to get there anyways. Aren’t you worried about her recognizing you?”

“I paid for your bill so she wouldn’t be stood up with the check. That’s why it took so long. And no, she’s not going to recognize me. Most people don’t usually see me, despite me owning the company. You’re my only client and I hide out in my office, remember? I bet you had no idea I existed until you met me.”

“No, I suppose not,” Rip admitted.

“Anyways, I’ll have a call with her matchmaker and let him know what happened. I suppose you get to go home early to your son and you can tell me what happened later.”

Gideon meant to turn around but Rip stopped her, “Hey, wait! Have you eaten yet?”

“What?”

“Because I haven’t, and I’m starving. And there’s a Big Belly Burger right over there,” Rip pointed across the street.

Gideon looked at it and then back at him, “What about Jonas?”

“Kendra took him out for dinner, they wouldn’t be home now anyways. So dinner? On me? Since you did pay for my date after all.”

“It was just drinks and appetizers,” Gideon argued but eventually agreed. “Alright then. Dinner.”

“Come on then,” Rip placed a hand on her back as they walked over to the burger place.

As they sat down Rip shed his suit jacket and loosened his tie to match the more casual atmosphere. After their food was set down in front of them, Gideon began grilling him.

“So what went wrong?”

“She’s friends with my ex-wife. That’s never a good start,” Rip told her.

Gideon winced, “Sorry, I thought I checked all possible points of contact.”

Rip shrugged assuaging her guilt, “I’m not sure Miranda even has a Facebook anyways. Or any form of social media. She says she can’t keep track of it all when she barely gets internet as it is. And besides, other than that, we just didn’t have much in common. We were far too different.”

Gideon hummed, “I’d imagine so. I only calculated an eighty-three percent chance of it working out anyways.”

“Then why’d you send me on the date?” Rip frowned.

Gideon looked at him surprised, “Because of you. You always complain that an algorithm doesn’t work so I figured maybe the fact that you had possibly been friends once – given the mutual friend circles – would mean you had a higher chance than predicted. Clearly, I should trust my code more.”

“Why on earth would you think that would work? Me wanting to date a friend?” Rip asked.

Gideon shrugged, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed but a high proportion of your friends are female. I suppose I assumed you might be interested in dating one of them. You and Laurel Lance seem rather close for instance. And you mention Kendra a lot. I thought it might be better starting from a more distant friend group.”

Rip stared at her for a long time before speaking, “You really need to consult me more on things before assuming things. Kendra babysits my son and Laurel is probably the only other level-headed person in the friend group other than me. Doesn’t mean I want to date them. Honestly I didn’t even notice most of my friends were women, I suppose it just sort of happened. Most of them were friends with me and Miranda before the divorce and the friendship carried over even after Miranda left, I suppose.”

“Can I ask a question?” Gideon asked timidly.

Rip sighed and stretched his arm out on his side of the booth, “You always do.”

“You don’t wear your wedding ring, ever.”

“Is that a question?” Rip stared at her. Seeing her pointed look, he stated, “Widowers wear their wedding rings, not divorcees.”

“Yes, but we’ve had divorced clients before and either they accidentally keeping wearing their rings or they miss it. But not you, you don’t even have a tan line for it. And I find it hard to believe you don’t miss it being the romantic that you are.”

“You think I’m romantic?” Rip chuckled. He stopped when he saw Gideon’s serious look and leaned forward with his elbows on the table as he rubbed his face, “We got divorced three, nearly four years ago. I never really wore a ring much when I was married either. Neither did Miranda with all the work she did. And don’t you dare try and psychoanalyze that as a symbol of our relationship. We did love each other.”

“You’ve been psychoanalyzed before?” Gideon asked with a humorous tone.

“Couples therapy,” Rip bit out, “Obviously it didn’t work in the end. Anyways, so when the divorce finally came through, I didn’t really miss wearing the ring. And we sold them, put the money into a college fund for Jonas.”

Gideon nodded deciding to leave the conversation as it was and went back to eating her food.

“Oh god, you dip your fries into your milkshake,” Rip laughed as he lightened up as he watched her.

Gideon looked up affronted, “You don’t get to judge me until you’ve tried it for yourself.” She dipped a fry into her milkshake and held it across the table for Rip. He stared at her hand and then back at her face, her eyes flashed daring him to try it. So he leaned forward took the fry in his mouth as Gideon let go.

Rip chewed slowly before he said, “I suppose it could be worse. But I still don’t love it.”

Gideon laughed as she shook her head, “Well that is completely your problem. Ray taught me actually, so it’s his fault in the first place. It drives Felicity crazy too.”

“How is Ray?” Rip asked politely.

“Same as ever. Upbeat and overly stressed about the wedding,” Gideon answered casually.

“Wedding?” Rip choked.

Gideon gave him a funny look, “Yes, it’s in a few months. He’s worrying about every little thing which is rather surprisingly refreshing for a groom I suppose. But also really annoying because he comes to me for every little thing.”

“Right. Well, congratulations I suppose. As a divorcee myself, I still wish you the best of luck,” Rip drummed his fingers on the table incessantly suddenly looking for an escape route, “Do you want some ice cream? Because I suddenly have a craving.”

Gideon looked at him with a small frown on her face as she shook her head, no. Rip took that as the perfect escape and went back to the counter to order some. By the time he got back to the table Gideon was still frowning but cleaning it off.

“All done? We might as well start walking back to the cars then,” Rip offered as he tugged on his suit jacket. Gideon nodded and silently followed him out.

“Rip?” Gideon started after a beat or two of silence as they walked, “Did you mean? – I mean, when you said – you know I’m not marrying Ray, right?”

Rip stopped suddenly, “You’re not? But you said the wedding is coming up?”

“Ray’s wedding,” Gideon clarified, “To my lab partner from college. They’re college sweethearts, together since forever. It’s rather sickening at times.”

“So you’re not engaged to Ray?” Rip asked again.

Gideon placed both her hands on his forearm so he could see in the streetlight that there was no ring on her finger. Of course he had known that before, but he was fully processing what it meant now. Not engaged, he didn’t know why he cared so much.

“Most definitely not,” Gideon promised him, the smile on her face teasing.

“Sorry, I just assumed. The two of you seemed really close,” Rip apologized as they started walking again, somehow with Gideon’s arm linking through his.

“We are,” Gideon agreed, “Ray’s probably the closest thing I have to a real family. I do love him, but not like that. Besides, he and Lily are perfect for each other. Did you know they were the first match I found with my code? A ninety-seven percent match, no one’s beaten that yet.”

“If you matched them up, then why doesn’t Ray believe in your code?” Rip wondered.

“I suppose you could say they fell in love the old fashioned way. Ray has no idea I did that, though Felicity always says I should tell him.”

Rip nodded, silently agreeing before asking, “So no fiancé. Boyfriend or girlfriend?”

“Still as single as ever. Workaholic, remember? I’m not quite sure it instills the confidence we want with the fact that the CEO of our matchmaking company can’t keep a relationship for more than a few weeks,” Gideon lamented.

Rip pulled an arm around her, “Or it just proves that you’re just like the rest of us. Wandering around looking for love.” Rip smiled down at her only to see her line of sight was not directly at him, but at his ice cream cone.

“Here,” Rip offered with a chuckle, “You can have the rest of it.”

“Really?” Gideon asked wide-eyed, “You don’t have to, I just – mint chocolate chip is my favourite!” Gideon continued to eye the cone.

Rip pushed it into her hand, “I’m sure. I’m used to sharing anyways, Jonas always says he doesn’t want stuff and then changes his mind at the last moment.”

“So what you’re saying here is I’m looking at the wrong dating pool? I should be dating single fathers instead? Because none of my previous boyfriends would ever think to share their ice cream with me,” Gideon commented as she took the ice cream.

Rip laughed as Gideon’s car came into view, “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. You’ve clearly been dating the wrong type.”

Gideon smiled back at him, some ice cream dripping down her chin. Before she could wipe it off, Rip leaned over with a handkerchief and took care of it.

“Sorry,” Rip whispered when he realized how close they were, “Another habit from being a father.”

“It’s not so bad,” Gideon assured him quietly, “Anyways, this is me. I’ll call you when I have another date for you. Thank you for dinner, though.”

“Of course, and thank you for saving me,” Rip smiled back. He had almost forgotten how bad his original date had been. But the night had ended well enough.

* * *

 

“I can’t believe you jerks had game night without me!” Thea complained.

“That was like a month ago,” Rip rolled his eyes, “And besides, we’ve now moved game night to Friday night to accommodate your schedule.”

“More like to accommodate your never-ending dates. When are you going to pick a girl already?” Jax interjected.

“I have six months!”

“Doesn’t mean you have to use the entire time,” Laurel pointed out.

“Does someone want to help us set up the game or not?” Kendra asked aloud to stop the oncoming argument. She was sitting next to Lisa and Jonas who were both pondering the instructions manual. Rip gave her a grateful smile, at least someone was still on his side.

“Alright, is this it?” Laurel asked as she placed the snacks and drinks down, “Sara and Len are on their date night.”

“Ollie’s working the bar,” Thea informed them.

“Hey, I should be helping out Grey with wedding thing, but I’m here,” Jax scoffed not caring for the excuses.

“Should you really be calling your professor that?” Laurel asked in her mom voice.

“Like you weren’t looking for an escape from wedding planning anyways,” Thea jeered. Then she shouted, “I call Jonas on my team!” Jonas cheered and ran over to the couch to sit next to Thea.

“Well, that’s our cue for game night to commence!” Lisa yelled.

Game night continued in a flurry of excitement as they divided into teams and began playing. Between all the screaming and laughing (Rip’s team was losing much to Lisa’s satisfaction) Rip still somehow managed to hear his cellphone go off through all the noise.

“Quiet down a bit, would you!” Rip yelled at his friends.

“Go answer it in the kitchen! There is no stopping on game night!” Lisa shouted back at him.

Rip grumbled at his inconsiderate friends but got up to take the call in the kitchen as requested. He looked down at his phone and saw that it was Gideon. Normally she didn’t call to schedule a last minute date, and Rip had really been looking forward to having a free weekend.

“If this is about another date, a little more heads up would be nice. I have plans with Jonas and I don’t want to cancel them,” Rip answered the phone jumping right into the conversation without even a standard greeting.

“Rip?” Gideon asked confused, “Damn it. Sorry, I didn’t mean to call you. Meant to call Ray and I must have hit the wrong one. Damn it!”

“What’s wrong?” Rip asked worried. He could hear the frustration in Gideon’s voice and she sounded rather upset. Not to mention she never cursed.

“What? Sorry. My bloody car decided to break down. And I was supposed to meet Ray and Lily, and now that’s clearly not going to happen. And now I’m stuck,” Gideon sounded close to tears.

“Do you need someone to come and get you?” Rip asked already looking for his keys.

“No, don’t be silly,” Gideon stopped him as she calmed down, “I’ll just call Ray or Felicity. I’m meeting both of them tonight anyways.”

“Are you sure?” Rip insisted. At this point Kendra and Jax entered the room. Kendra took one look at Rip’s worried face and went to stand next to him. Jax meanwhile headed over to the fridge to grab another soda. When he realized Kendra wasn’t leaving he leaned against the fridge and also waited.

“Yes, of course I’m sure. Besides my real problem is having to call a tow late on a Friday night and getting the car to a mechanic and getting around until it gets fixed. And who knows how long that will take!”

Rip frowned, he turned and gave Jax a questioning look, “Hold on just a moment.” Rip held the phone against his shirt so Gideon didn’t receive any unneeded feedback, “Jax, your garage is still towing tonight, right?”

“Yeah, they tow until midnight. Why?” Jax looked confused.

“I have a friend that needs some help. Do you think you could get me the number? And maybe also work on her car over the weekend?” Rip asked.

Jax sighed, “Yeah sure I guess. I got a lot of work to do though. Chances are the earliest I can get it done will be Monday or Tuesday.”

“Thank you, Jax!” Rip turned back to his phone, “Gideon? I have a friend who’s a mechanic. He can get a tow truck for you and fix up your car over the weekend. The car would be ready by Tuesday, probably?”

“You don’t have to do that,” Gideon responded.

“It’s not a big deal, really,” Rip insisted.

Gideon sighed, “Yes, alright. That would be actually rather nice. And I wouldn’t have to depend on Felicity for rides for too long. Thank you, Rip.”

“Of course,” Rip assured her. Rip rattled off the number for the tow truck to Gideon after he got it from Jax. After making sure Gideon was alright, safe and didn’t need anything else Rip finally hung up so Gideon could call Ray and get a ride from him.

Rip sighed in relief as he put his phone in his pocket. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kendra give Jax a look until the younger man shrugged and left the room. Then Kendra turned back to Rip.

“What?” Rip asked.

Kendra smiled at him softly and walked up to him, gently placing her hands on his arms. Now Rip was scared.

“What?” he repeated.

“You seemed pretty worried on the phone, you okay?” Kendra asked.

“I’m perfectly fine. I was just a little worried about Gideon. That’s all.”

“You spend a lot of time with her, huh? You two have gotten pretty close. Especially since you’ve hated your previous matchmakers.”

“I never said I hated them,” Rip argued, “But Gideon is good at her job.”

“Really? I mean I’m sure she is. It’s just that I know your last date was friends with Miranda, I was actually rather surprised you had such a good time,” Kendra mused.

“Oh, that date was a complete bust,” Rip dismissed.

“Then why were you out so late?” Kendra asked confused.

“You were all out for dinner, so I decided to grab dinner with Gideon instead. Considering she saved me from that awful date,” Rip explained.

“So your dinner date was a bust, and instead of coming home you decided to go to dinner with Gideon instead. Just the two of you,” Kendra repeated slowly.

“Yes?” Rip asked unsure where this was going. He just said all that, what didn’t she understand?

“Is she pretty?” Kendra asked suddenly.

Rip blinked, “Yes? I suppose so.” He had never really thought about it. But sure, he would admit Gideon was attractive by conventional social norms. What with the big grey eyes and chestnut waves of hair; sure she was pretty.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Rip asked.

Kendra merely shook her head, a small smile on her face. She patted his shoulder as she walked out of the room calling over her shoulder, “Come on! Game night waits for no one!”

Rip frowned and shook his head. Honestly, he didn’t have time to think about his friends’ strange behaviors. Besides, tonight was game night.

* * *

 

“Hello Iris, Felicity” Rip greeted as he walked into the lobby on Tuesday, “Is Gideon in? I’m supposed to be picking her up.”

“Yeah, give her a second she’ll be right out,” Iris answered as she worked on her own things while Felicity leaned against her desk.

“I’m here!” Gideon called as she hurried out of the hallway slightly flushed, “Sorry. Got caught up in coding.”

“It’s fine, I just got here anyways,” Rip said.

“You picking up your car today?” Felicity asked. As Gideon nodded Felicity sighed, “Well I’ll miss my carpool buddy. And our karaoke drives.”

“You sing?” Rip asked somewhat surprised.

“Yes,” Iris and Felicity both chimed in as Gideon said, “No.”

“Gideon has a beautiful voice. If you’re lucky enough to hear her,” Iris leaned forward on her crossed arms as she smiled at her boss.

Gideon blushed, “Hardly. I barely sing anyways, and I’m not any good.” Behind her, Felicity was furiously shaking her head mothing ‘Yes she is!”

“What about you?” Iris changed the subject looking at Rip, “You excited for your next date? Patty Spivot, right? She’s really sweet. Barry works with her.”

“Do you know everybody?” Rip asked again dumbfounded.

“It’s the business,” Felicity answered.

Gideon rolled her eyes, “Stop complaining, if we know everyone it means we’re doing our job properly. Now enough chit chat, I need to get my car, please.”

Gideon linked arms with Rip and dragged him out as he half turned to return Felicity’s cheerful goodbye.

“Thank you for driving me over to get my car,” Gideon said as they were stuck at a traffic signal.

“It’s not a big deal. Besides, I like Jax. He’s a good kid. Or at least I’m hoping he’ll be a helpful one because I desperately need a babysitter for Saturday if I’m going on this date.”

“What happened to the usual crew?” Gideon asked. Normally there seemed to be an excess of people from what Gideon understood.

“Somehow everyone is busy. The Lance sisters are having dinner with their mother. Lisa is getting some sort of award for work so her brother is going to that. And both the Queens are working that night somehow. Kendra already told me she had plans for the weekend, I just forgot. And I don’t want her to cancel because of me,” Rip explained as they pulled into the garage.

“Jax?” he yelled over the music playing in the background, “Where are you?”

“Coming, I’m coming. Quit your hollering,” Jax answered back before appearing from the back of the shop. He turned to Gideon and smiled nicely, “Hello again Gideon, your car’s all ready if you want to take a look at it.”

Gideon nodded and the two of them followed Jax to her car where Rip and her circled it to make sure there was no extra damage as Jax explained what the problem had been and what he had changed.

“How much will it be?” Gideon asked.

“For you? No charge,” Jax smiled.

“That’s simply unacceptable,” Gideon argued, “Just tell me how much and-”

“No seriously, don’t worry about it,” Jax waved his hand and looked at her kindly, “Look, helping fix your car was the least I could do. I mean other than the fact Wally loves you, you paid for my entire semester’s tuition. Fixing up your car for free really isn’t a big deal.”

“You weren’t supposed to know about that!” Gideon scolded.

Jax shrugged, “Did you know that Ray is terrible at keeping secrets once he’s had a glass of wine?”

Gideon groaned, “That man is terrible at keeping secrets completely sober!”

Rip looked between the two of them in utter confusion. He had assumed they first met when Gideon had gotten her car dropped off, clearly he had been wrong.

“I feel like I’m missing a large part of this conversation,” Rip announced.

Jax shrugged as he looked at him, “She’s good friends with Wally’s sister.”

“Iris,” Gideon supplied.

“And with Grey’s daughter. So I met her at the surprise party and all the wedding meetings they’ve been having.”

“Lily,” Gideon clarified.

“And you paid for his tuition?” Rip repeated.

“I donate money to his college and a lot of it goes out in scholarship funds. I’m the CEO of a successful company, I don’t need all that money for myself, so I put it to good use. Ray donates there too,” Gideon explained.

“Right,” Rip said slowly, “Is there anybody that you don’t know? Are any of my friends even my friends?”

“I suppose now would be a bad time to mention that I’m getting to know Caitlin rather well since she’s also a part of the wedding party?” Gideon asked rhetorically. Noticing Rip’s questioning gaze, she clarified, “She and Lily work together.” Rip shook his head, completely giving up on understanding the various third degree connections he and Gideon had.

“We should all meet up together at some point honestly. If it would stop Len from giving me hard time every time I have to hang out with the wedding group,” Jax mentioned easily.

“Oh yes, that’s exactly what my schedule needs. An impromptu gathering of people meeting each other and awkwardly trying to get along,” Gideon said somewhat harshly. Noticing the looks she was getting, she quickly apologized, “Sorry. It’s just that my work consists of setting people up and hoping they get along for the long term. It’s not something I enjoy in my personal life. Which probably explains why I’m still single.” She muttered that last part under her breath but Rip could still hear her and had to press his lips together to stop himself from laughing.

“Speaking of schedules though, I don’t suppose you’re free to babysit on Saturday night, are you Jax?” Rip asked hopefully.

“Sorry man,” Jax shook his head, “I promised my mom I’d hang out with her and have dinner. I said yes since I knew game night wasn’t happening. What happened to Kendra?”

“Right, not a problem,” Rip sighed, “Kendra is out of town with Amaya for a girls’ weekend. And everyone else is busy, I already checked. I don’t suppose we could take a rain check for this one?”

“Can’t. It looks bad on our company. I’m sorry,” Gideon replied before hesitantly offering, “I could look after Jonas if you’d like?”

“I thought you were coming on the date with me?” Rip frowned

“I can be there and look after Jonas as well. If that would make things easier?”

“Alright. I’ll ask him when I get home tonight. Thanks,” Rip agreed tentatively.

“Of course, it’s my job,” Gideon smiled back at him. After all, this next woman could just be the one.

* * *

 

Rip knocked on the door and waited for an answer while Jonas fidgeted next to him.

“You’re right on time. Hello Jonas,” Gideon greeted as she opened the door. Rip gave her outfit a once over before commenting.

“I honestly didn’t think you owned any jeans.”

“We’re going to be in arcade. I’m guessing there’s going to be a lot of running and screaming children. I can’t do all that in a dress comfortably,” Gideon replied irritably as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

Rip waited until she turned her back on him to lock the door, “Still, it’s a little strange to be this dressed up when you’re so dressed down.”

Gideon turned back to him taking in the grey suit he was wearing, “Well it looks good on you. So congrats, you did well. Now let’s get going, we don’t want you to be late for the first date.”

On the car ride to the restaurant (the arcade was only a block over so it worked out nicely) Rip bombarded Gideon with all the information she may need on Jonas. Do’s and don’t’s, what he liked to eat, what emergency numbers she could call, what he wasn’t allowed to have and so forth.

“Are you always like this?” Gideon asked as he pulled into the parking space. She felt rather overwhelmed by the flood of information. She was smart. She could do this. Right?

“Yeah, he worries a lot,” Jonas answered from the backseat.

“I’m your dad, it’s my job. And it’s my first time leaving my son alone with you, I’m going to be a lot worried,” Rip told Gideon.

Gideon reached over and placed a hand on his arm, “I’ll take care of him, I promise. And I’ll give you a call if I need you. Cross my heart.”

Rip sighed, “Alright then. Guess this is it. Everyone out.” Rip waited until they were all out to lock the car, then he turned to his son to give Jonas a hug.

As he began to bend down, Jonas stopped him, “Dad, you don’t need to do that anymore. I’m nearly eleven, I’m not a little kid anymore.”

Rip blinked. Ouch, his son was just breaking his heart all over again. He’d noticed Jonas had been quieter on his date nights, and he’d been meaning to talk to him about it but he just didn’t know how to start. And now apparently he was too old for hugs. The hurt just wouldn’t stop. He spared Gideon a glance who quickly looked away to give the two privacy.

“Right. Of course you are, my mistake. Well, you still be good for Gideon. And call me if you need anything at all. And I’ll see you soon I guess,” Rip said roughly. He nodded at Gideon as Jonas avoided eye contact and scuffed his shoe on the ground. Great, his son was mad at him and he had to go on another stupid date.

“So, do you want to go to the arcade now?” Gideon asked shyly. Now that it was just her and Jonas, she could feel herself beginning to panic. Jonas nodded so the two of them walked down the street to the arcade. Gideon paid for the unlimited game cards and the two set off towards the games.

“So which one first?” Gideon asked.

“I don’t know, skeeball is cool I guess,” Jonas shrugged. Gideon nodded, well aware of the fact that Jonas seemed quieter than usual.

“Alright then. Let’s see who wins, shall we?” Gideon challenged. Jonas grinned at her and ran ahead to the game. The two played skeeball (Gideon won), then the racing game (which Jonas was surprisingly good at) and then made their way over to the Zombie Apocalypse game.

“I don’t understand the point of this game,” Gideon complained.

“You’re supposed to kill all the zombies before they can eat your brains out,” Jonas sounded far too excited about this shooting game.

Gideon shot a zombie in the head and gasped as digital blood splattered, “I find this game rather violent. Is your father okay with this?” At that comment Jonas’ grin dimmed so Gideon decided to shoot more zombies to get a laugh out of the boy.

“Right then,” Gideon said after they had played some more games, “I’m hungry. So pizza or chicken strips?” Jonas answered chicken and Gideon wanted pizza so she went and got them some food while Jonas saved them a table.

It wasn’t until Jonas had devoured half his chicken strips and started to slow down before he asked, “Do you think dad is going to find the right girlfriend?”

“I hope so. That is my job. Do you not want him to date?” Gideon asked quietly. It would explain why Jonas was so put off on date night.

Jonas shrugged, “I heard Laurel and Sara talking about how Dad should be happy. And that’s why they signed him up for the dates. It doesn’t seem to matter what I think.”

Gideon breathed deeply. This was why she hid in her office and worked with computers all day. She was no good with people, it’s why she never had clients. And especially why she should not have volunteered to look after a distraught little boy!

“I think your opinion is the most important,” Gideon told him, “And your dad does too. You are the most important person in his life, he’s told me so. If you don’t want him to date, then you can tell him that and he’ll stop.”

“But then wouldn’t he be alone? And sad?” Jonas asked remembering the conversation between Sara and Laurel.

“No, he’d have you. And that’s all he needs. You make him happy and you will always come first for him Jonas,” Gideon reassured him. She felt a stab of bitterness when she thought of the fact that Jonas had a father that loved him so much. It wasn’t something she had been blessed with in her own life.

“He goes out a lot now. And it’s almost always with a different girl, do you think he’s going to forget about Mom?” Jonas asked wide-eyed.

Gideon was not equipped to handle this situation! Who in their right mind would leave her alone with their ten-year-old child? Rip Hunter was clearly insane!

“I don’t know” Gideon stuttered, “Jonas, do you want your parents to get back together?”

Jonas shrugged, “They already told me they wouldn’t. But I don’t want Dad to marry anyone else.”

“I don’t think your father is marrying anyone just yet. But you should really talk to him about this instead of being silently angry about it,” Gideon soothed him. Jonas looked down after that and stopped talking. The rest of dinner was a silent affair.

It was towards the end as Jonas was finishing his drink and Gideon was playing with the crusts of her pizza that Rip finally wandered in.

“There you are,” Rip sighed as he slid into the booth next to his son, “I was getting worried.”

“We’re fine. How was your date?” Gideon asked getting to business first.

Rip shrugged as he grabbed a fry from Jonas’ plate and spoke, “It was fine. She was fun. Bubbly, but not to the point of being annoying. And she’s rather intimidating when she wants to be. I’ll probably see her next week again.” And Patty had been fine. She was perfectly sweet and completely understanding when Rip wasn’t as attentive as he should have been since mind was stuck on Jonas. And she listened to him ramble on about his son with questions on all the right points. All in all, one of the best dates he’d had.

Gideon saw Jonas’ somewhat disheartened look and stood up, “I’m going to go grab another drink or something. I think Jonas has something he’d like to talk to you about anyways.”

As Gideon walked off Rip turned to his son and put an arm around his shoulders, forcing Jonas to look at him, “You going to tell me what I’ve done to make you so angry with me?”

Jonas shrugged, “I don’t know. Did you really like her?”

“She was nice. She was the one you said had a nice smile, remember?” Rip answered. It had been one of Gideon’s selling points on the date. “I would like to see her again. Is that alright with you?”

“Are you going to marry her?” Jonas asked.

Rip’s eyebrows shot up, “No. I wasn’t planning on it. Not any time soon. And even if I were – which I’m not – then you know I would ask for your permission first, don’t you Jonas? You come first for me, always.”

“That’s what Gideon said too,” Jonas mumbled.

“Gideon’s smart,” Rip commented.

“If you’re not going to marry her, then what’s the point of dating her?” Jonas asked.

“Well, perhaps at some point I will marry her. But I won’t know that unless I date her. The whole entire point of this matchmaking thing is for me to hopefully find a woman I can someday love. Does that make sense?”

“Like you loved Mom?” Jonas asked.

Rip sighed. He should have known this conversation would happen at some point or another, “Jonas, you know your mother and I didn’t work out. Now, I did love her. And I still think she’s a wonderful person, but that’s not enough to keep a marriage.” And he did care for Miranda, it’s just that they made better friends than spouses in the end.

“I know. So you won’t be marrying anyone again?” Jonas asked again.

“Not any time soon and maybe not ever again. Now, are you sure you’re alright with me dating again?” Rip asked again.

“I guess. But I never get to meet any of them,” Jonas complained.

“If there was someone worth meeting you know I’d introduce them to you. After all, you see Caitlin around now,” Rip pointed out.

“And Gideon!” Jonas added happily.

“Yes, I suppose so,” Rip chuckled. Though it wasn’t quite the same.

“I saw laughter and thought it was an appropriate time to come back. Everything alright?” Gideon asked as she walked back and stood awkwardly by the table.

Rip smiled at his son as they both got up as well, “Yes, I think we’re fine.” Jonas nodded along enthusiastically.

“So what’s the consensus?” Gideon asked with worry in her eyes.

“He can keep dating. And I get to meet the good ones. And he’s not getting married ever, or at least not now,” Jonas told her. Rip laughed and leaned in to hug his son but stopped himself at the last moment.

“Sorry, I forgot,” Rip raised his hands in surrender, “You’re too old for hugs now.” Jonas bit his lip before jumping forward to hug his dad which Rip easily responded to.

“Hugs are still okay, I guess. But you don’t need to kneel down for them anymore,” Jonas said.

“Fair enough,” Rip laughed, “Now where to? Do you two still have some energy to lose at some games?”

“Yes! Gideon is amazing at Zombie Apocalypse, you gotta play it with her, Dad!” Rip raised an eyebrow at Gideon who shrugged modestly. Apparently she had decent aim.

“Well then, she better prepare to lose this round. No one’s a better shot than me,” Rip told his son. Gideon spluttered as Rip slung an arm around Jonas’ shoulders and grabbed Gideon’s hand and led them back to the game floor.

* * *

 

“Happy Father’s Day!” Lisa yelled as a cake with sparklers was placed on the table.

“Lisa, we’re in a restaurant. Please use your inside voice,” Rip scolded her.

“Sure thing, Dad,” Lisa teased. Rip rolled his eyes as he cut a piece of cake for Jonas sitting next to him.

“While I appreciate the free meal, you know you didn’t have to do this. Right?” Rip asked.

“Sure we did,” Leonard replied easily, “It was either this or going to lunch with Sara and her dad. And I’m not sure we’re at that level. Besides, you’re the best dad we know.”

Lisa nodded, “Light-years ahead of our own father. And besides, we’re only paying until this little one starts making his own cash and treating you out.” Lisa grinned as she pointed at Jonas who laughed back at her.

“Well it’s a very nice gesture. Pay close attention Jonas, you’ll have to do this in about six years or so,” Rip told his son.

“Sure Dad. Hey I want more cake!” Jonas yelled at Leonard who was taking the last slice. Leonard sighed dramatically and cut the last piece in half and handed it to the kid with a smile.

“I’m surprised you didn’t join the Lance sisters for lunch though. It’s hardly the first time you’ve met their father,” Rip commented.

“He wants to propose to Sara and is scared Quentin’s going to take one look at him and know,” Lisa answered as she took a bite out of her cake.

“Really?” Rip asked surprised. He had known they were quite serious; he’d never seen Leonard so happy with anyone else before. Of all his friends, Leonard was the only one that truly understood what it meant to sacrifice everything for the person you loved. After all, he had practically raised Lisa on his own. He’d been happy for the man when he’d finally met the girlfriend – even if that meant opening his home to a lot more people!

Leonard glared at his sister, “Thanks Sis, you’re a great secret keeper. I’ve been considering it. But I haven’t even bought a ring yet. Or asked her dad for permission. Or even talked to Sara about it.”

“He’s scared she’ll say no,” Lisa chimed in to her brother’s annoyance.

“Seriously?” Rip asked. It was rather obvious how crazy Sara was for Len, and vice versa.

Leonard shrugged, “When we first started dating she said she wasn’t the marrying type. I don’t know if that’s really changed or not.”

“To be fair, you weren’t the marrying type either when you two first met,” Rip pointed out, “And you only got a date with her because you started a bar fight the night she was working and she had to walk you out of the club.” Hardly Rip’s idea of the perfect first meeting, but to each their own. It had certainly worked out for them.

“Starting a brawl and winning the heart of the fair bar maiden. Now that’s true love,” Lisa teased.

“Still,” Rip got them back on track, “I think you owe it to yourselves to at least have the conversation. Especially if she is the one.”

“Marriage doesn’t mean happily ever after. You’re divorced. And it’s not like our parents had the happiest marriage,” Len pointed out.

“True. But do you honestly think you’re ever going to love anyone as much as you do, Sara?” Rip asked sincerely. The look on his face said it all. Rip repeated, “Talk to her. You both deserve that much.”

“When you get married, can I be in the wedding?” Jonas piped up.

Len laughed, “Of course kid. I’m gonna need you there right by my side.” Now he just had to somehow ask Sara about it.

* * *

 

“How is it fair that you get to call him Martin when I’m going to be his son-in-law in a few months and I still have to call him Professor Stein?” Ray grumbled as he walked up to Gideon. She was sitting on the porch steps watching the rest of the party in full swing.

“Oh hush, it’s because you’re marrying his little girl. He likes you just fine and he couldn’t be happier. You know that, he just likes giving you a hard time,” Gideon replied.

“Yeah, yeah. I know. Please tell me you’re not over here doing work? Come on, it’s a Father’s Day party! Emphasis on the party! Have some fun for once,” Ray grabbed the phone Gideon had been holding.

“Ray! I have plenty of fun!” Gideon argued as she made grabby hands for her phone. But Ray simply pocketed it.

“Really? What did you do last night?” Ray looked at her.

“I went to an arcade,” Gideon said with her voice rather steady if she said so herself. Ray continued to stare at her so Gideon sighed, “Alright so it was babysitting a client’s son technically speaking. But it was fun!”

“You were around kids? I thought you were scared of kids?”

“Well he’s a good kid. I mean, I did enjoy myself,” Gideon defended herself.

Ray stayed silent a moment before slowly saying, “You know, maybe you could take a step back from matchmaking other people and worry about yourself a bit.”

“Oh not this again,” Gideon said with a huff.

“I’m serious. You’re always working so hard all the time. Gideon, you deserve someone great for yourself. Maybe if you just looked away from your code for a second-”

“Doctor Palmer, stop it. Now,” Gideon said tightly without raising her voice, “I’ve tried dating. It’s always a failure. I have accepted that I’m meant to play cupid for others, not have someone for myself.”

Ray looked at her with his puppy dog eyes before Lily came bounding in. She took one look at the two of them and wrapped her arms around Gideon.

“What did you say to her?” Lily glared at Ray.

“Nothing! I didn’t say anything!” Ray insisted.

“Nothing that wasn’t true. My everlasting spinsterhood, that’s all,” Gideon responded.

“Aww Gideon, it’s not forever. I could take you to those speed dating nights. Or you know, just a karaoke night. We should go!” Lily insisted.

Just then Felicity walked by and sat down with them. She turned to Lily, “Caitlin texted you. She says she’s going to be late. Why are we discussing Gideon’s singleness?”

“Because you’re all annoying!” Gideon groaned, “Felicity is single too! Why doesn’t anyone bother her?”

“Because I actually have a life outside of work. I mean it’s not much of a life, but it is a life,” Felicity babbled, “I mean I have a goddaughter now, whom I love very much. You want to see the pictures Lyla just sent me? She’s so sweet! She has John’s eyes, I swear!” Gideon sighed as Felicity fished for her phone to show them even more baby pictures.

“We just want you to be happy,” Ray told Gideon quietly.

“I am happy,” Gideon insisted as she patted Lily’s arms around her, “Two of my best friends are marrying each other. I might have actually found someone decent for my client. And I’m actually not drowning in work for once, believe it or not. I am happy.”

She just didn’t have somebody to come home to at the end of the day. Nobody to talk to or cook dinner for her. But it was fine, life wasn’t perfect for anyone. So Gideon was going to be content with what she got.

* * *

 

“So I had a really nice time tonight,” Patty smiled as she and Rip walked out of the restaurant.

“So did I,” Rip agreed, “And thank you again for doing this on a Friday night.”

“Of course. A little boy should get his dad all to himself on the weekends. I totally understand,” Patty said. She bounced on the balls of her feet for a moment, “So, do you think you want to do this again?”

“Yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun actually. I’ll call you?”

“Make sure you do,” Patty laughed, “Anyways, I’m parked this way.” She jerked her thumb down the left.

“I’m in the opposite direction from you I’m afraid,” Rip shook his head. He’d walked straight from work since the restaurant had been close enough, so he was still parked at the museum.

“Well, I guess this is good night then. Good night, Rip.” Patty leaned up kissed him gently on the cheek, dangerously close to his lips. If he turned the slightest bit, he could probably kiss her properly. Instead he stood still in shock. Somehow he managed to stutter good night as he watched her walk away with a smile and wave in his direction. Rip shook himself out of his thoughts and walked in the other direction peering at the various storefronts as he did so. He stopped suddenly when he realized who was sitting in the coffeeshop.

Rip walked right in and took a seat across from her, not that she even looked up from her laptop as he did, so he decided to speak up, “I thought you never left your office?”

Gideon startled at his voice and put a hand to her heart as she stared at him. Rip managed to chuckle out an apology, but the look on her face had definitely been worth it.

“I leave occasionally. And this place was close to work. What are you doing here?”

Rip raised an eyebrow, “I just finished my date with Patty.”

“I thought that wasn’t until later? It’s only – much later than I thought apparently,” Gideon looked at the clock, “I suppose this explains why I’m hungry.”

“You haven’t eaten?”

“Not since lunch unfortunately. Give me a second?” Gideon walked up to the counter and grabbed a sandwich, paid for it and sat back down in her seat. She folded her laptop so she could focus on Rip properly.

“That is hardly a proper meal,” Rip chided her.

“It’s a sandwich. It’s perfectly fine. And it’s better than anything I could make on my own anyways,” Gideon informed him as she ate, “Now, how was the second date? I see you’re not wearing a suit again. Do we have a winner?”

“I went straight from work, no time to change. And potentially. I do like spending time with her. And she’s very accepting about Jonas.” Rip had to admit, Patty checked off most of the major boxes for him. Suddenly he blurted, “She kissed me. On the cheek I mean, but I think she wanted a proper kiss. Should I have kissed her?”

Gideon paused, “Did you want to kiss her?”

“I don’t know. None of my other dates have gone that far,” Rip ran a hand through his hair.

Gideon wrapped up the remainder of her sandwich and covered Rip’s hand on the table, “If you don’t want to kiss her, you don’t have to. If you’re not completely sure about how you feel you don’t have to do anything.”

“Thanks,” Rip said. Gideon smiled and moved her hand away and began packing her things. She hadn’t realized how late she had stayed working.

“Are you busy right now?” Rip drummed his fingers on the table and studied her face like he was contemplating something.

Gideon blinked, “No. I think I’m done for the day actually. Even I need a break sometimes. Why?”

“I want to show you something,” Rip got up and reached a hand out for her. Gideon grabbed her laptop bag over her shoulder and tentatively took Rip’s hand.

“What?” she asked with a nervous smile. Rip merely smiled back at her and walked her out of the coffeeshop.

“Just come on,” he guided. Rip walked her down a few blocks to the museum.

“What are we doing here? Isn’t it closed?” Gideon asked as they walked up the steps.

“To the public, yes. But I’m the director. I can go in whenever I want,” Rip smiled at her. They walked past the night security where Rip flashed his badge and told them Gideon was his visitor and they wouldn’t be long. He was sure Gideon’s lost deer-in-headlights look helped sell the fact that she wasn’t dangerous.

“I’m confused,” Gideon repeated for possibly the hundredth time as they dropped off her laptop in Rip’s office. She was rather nervous about being apart from her laptop for so long but Rip assured her it would be fine as he locked the door.

“I told you, I want to show you something. I’ve been thinking about it for a while now actually,” Rip admitted as he took Gideon’s hand again and led her through the winding hallways, “Ever since you mentioned you’ve never been here before. I wanted to show you there’s more to this museum than old, dead things.”

“So you kidnapped me to show me old dead things?” Gideon asked as they passed multiple statues, paintings, she was pretty sure she saw a sarcophagus in the distance.

“No. I wanted to show you a new exhibit we have for the summer. It only comes around every few years and it goes public next week, but it’s set up now,” Rip came up to the double doors and opened them announcing, “Kusama: At the End of the Universe.”

Rip gestured for her to enter first. Gideon looked at him wearily but did as he asked. It was pitch black so she grabbed his hand and squeezed it causing him to chuckle some more.

“Come on,” she heard him whisper.

Slowly she inched after him as he dragged her further inside. And then she saw it. There were thousands of lights everywhere. It was like she was walking through stars. The dancing lights flickered and reflected off the ceiling and the floor. It was mesmerizing and absolutely breathtaking.

“It’s beautiful,” she breathed.

“Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity infinity room,” Rip whispered close to her ear from behind her, “Not old or boring in the slightest. I thought you might enjoy it.”

“I do,” Gideon nodded. She twirled around completely entranced. They were in the middle of the room simply surrounded by all the lights, “It’s amazing.”

“Thank you. It took a lot of time and effort to get this together. And you’re the first member of the public to see it.”

“I love it,” Gideon sighed in awe. She spun around again and Rip laughed as he caught her in his arms.

“Careful. You’ll get dizzy and get lost in here,” he warned her.

“You wouldn’t let that happen to me,” Gideon murmured.

“No, I wouldn’t,” Rip answered just as quietly, an intense look on his face.

“You didn’t think to bring Patty here?” Gideon commented lightly as she looked around the room again. Rip’s hand rested lightly around her waist.

“Why would I do that? It was only the second date. No,” Rip looked down at her deeply, “This is just for you.”

Gideon felt her cheeks heat up and silently prayed that he wouldn’t be able to see her blush in the dim lighting.

“Well thank you,” Gideon responded.

She felt Rip shrug rather than saw it, “Well I had to prove you wrong in something.”

Gideon laughed softly, ignoring the flip her stomach did and the inexplicable butterflies she felt. She simply leaned against Rip and tried to enjoy the simple, quiet moment for what it was. Perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Kusama exhibit is a real thing, I'd recommend googling it because it's beautiful.
> 
> As always, thank you for reading. Kudos/review if you enjoyed it? Or hated it, I'd still like to know! Thanks!


	4. Month Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m your matchmaker and half your allotted time is almost over and I’m right back to square one. Of course I’m upset.”  
> “Oh come here,” Rip teased as pulled Gideon against him, her back against his front. He rubbed his hands up and down her arms as he soothed her, “I have full faith that you’ll find my soulmate for me by the end of the six months.”  
> “You know I can still hear the sarcasm in your voice even when I can’t see you, right?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still not entirely happy with this chapter, but it is what it is. Also I apologize for the long lengths all the time, I keep trying to cut down but for some reason it just gets longer?

“I don’t see the point of being here,” Gideon reiterated for the thousandth time.

“The point is we’re all together for once, so we’re going to have fun!” Lily said as she clung to Ray’s arm, “The carnival only comes by once a year. Would you try and enjoy yourself?”

“I am enjoying myself, I would just enjoy myself more if I were at home and left to my own agenda,” Gideon informed them.

“To your computer. Come on, brighten up and live a little,” Ray grinned at her.

“Like you’re any better,” Lily defended Gideon, “You don’t leave your apartment for days sometimes. And you forget to shower and eat.”

“That rarely happens.”

“It happened last month.”

“Alright,” Ray conceded, “But I’m not work obsessed every single day like she is.”

Lily turned to Gideon, “He does make a good point.”

“Traitor,” Gideon grumbled.

“Alright, I’ve got cotton candy, popcorn and a salted pretzel!” Nate came up to the group, “Go crazy.” Gideon took the pretzel, Ray and Lily split the cotton candy amongst themselves, leaving the popcorn for Nate.

“Where’d Felicity go?” Nate asked as he looked around the group. The chirpy blonde was there when he left to find food, and now she was missing.

“Dig and Lyla just showed up, so Felicity went to meet them,” Ray explained.

“I thought this was a college only reunion?” Nate asked.

“It is,” Gideon said.

“Otherwise I would have invited Caitlin and Cisco too. And Jax. But Felicity is obsessed with her goddaughter so I’m letting it go,” Lily breathed deeply as Ray soothingly rubbed circles into her back.

“I think all the wedding planning is starting to get to her,” Nate whispered to Gideon as she laughed.

“I heard that!” Lily snapped. Then she backtracked, “Alright, so I’m a little stressed. But we only have like three months left and I was gone for like a good month before that.”

“I thought I did a pretty good job not cracking under the pressure,” Ray smiled remembering how he had to step up and help out more when Lily was gone. It had been pretty fun, so he was still helping out even now that Lily was back.

“You called me at least twice a day for every little thing,” Gideon deadpanned.

“And you texted me nonstop asking all these wedding questions. I’ve never even been married before, man!” Nate added.

“Alright, so getting married is a little stressful,” Ray admitted as Lily laughed against him, “But it’s completely worth it in the end.” Both Gideon and Nate pointedly looked away as Ray and Lily chose that moment to kiss.

“Hey! Enough with the PDA! We’ve got a little one here who does not need to see that!” Felicity yelled as she returned pushing a baby stroller.

“Felicity! What the hell is that?” Gideon stared.

Felicity looked at her completely unimpressed, “It’s baby Meghan, isn’t she adorable?”

“I thought Meghan was her middle name?” Ray asked confused.

“I mean, technically speaking it is,” Felicity admitted, “But only because of me. My middle name is now hers, she is my namesake. Let me have this!” Ray raised his hands in surrender; Felicity could do whatever she wanted as long as she didn’t kill him. Well at least not until after he got married, at least then he could die happy.

“I understood all that. I meant why did you bring her back with you?” Gideon asked.

“Well John and Lyla wanted to have fun too, but they can’t really do anything with a four-month old baby. So I told them I’d take her off their hands and they could have a little fun for themselves for a couple of hours,” Felicity explained, pointedly avoiding eye contact.

“I thought we were supposed to have fun,” Nate asked as he pointed to the five adults in a circle.

“And we will. Oh come on, looking after Megs is fun for me!” Felicity whined.

“Alright, babysitting. We’ll just add that to the list of things for today,” Ray clapped his hands, “But we’re not going to get to ride much either.”

“Oh no, you guys totally go ahead. I can watch from down here anyways. Half these rides would make me wanna puke up my saltwater taffy anyways. And trust me, that would not be pretty,” Felicity said.

“Well in that case. Drop of Terror anyone?” Nate asked aloud as he pointed to the ride.

“You’re not supposed to agree!” Gideon scolded him.

“She offered,” Nate shrugged, “So, what do you say? Ray?”

Ray looked between Nate who was grinning and Lily who was shaking her head. Then he turned to Gideon who crossed her arms and Felicity who was babbling to the baby.

“Let’s do it!” Ray yelled. Hearing Lily’s protests Ray insisted, “Oh come on. Carnival’s here only for the weekend, we gotta make the most of it. Love you!” Ray kissed Lily on the cheek before he and Nate scampered off to the ride while Lily huffed.

“Well go make sure he doesn’t kill himself. You’re marrying him after all,” Gideon smiled at Lily. She knew Lily would rather spend the day with Ray over Felicity and a baby anyways. Lily smiled gratefully and took off after them.

“And then there were two,” Felicity said, “Anything in particular you wanted to do?”

“We can just walk around. I’m only here because I was dragged out of my house, remember?”

“Fair point. Well I’m sure they’ll be back soon and then you can do all the fun rides. I know looking after a baby isn’t your ideal weekend,” Felicity assured her. Gideon simply shrugged and smiled at her as they walked through the crowd. They didn’t get too far before Meghan began crying in her stroller. Felicity immediately pulled over into an emptier place and took the baby out of the stroller.

“Aww, what’s the matter Sweetheart? I think someone’s a little hungry, huh? Yes you are! Let’s see if we can find a bottle in here for you!” Felicity cooed over the baby. Then she turned to Gideon, “Can you hold her for a minute?”

“Why can’t you just put her back into the stroller?” Gideon asked with fear in her eyes.

“She doesn’t like the stroller and I’m going to take her back in like thirty seconds. Just hold her! Here, she’s not going to bite you, she doesn’t even have teeth!” Felicity insisted. Gideon tentatively grasped the baby Felicity held out for her.

“Don’t drop her! Hold on tight!” Felicity warned Gideon as she turned back to the stroller.

“Right, I can do this,” Gideon’s voice shook. She held the baby so that her head was laying against Gideon’s shoulder, right at the crook of her neck. Meghan continued to cry causing Gideon to beg, “Oh please stop crying! What am I doing wrong? Felicity, she hates me!”

“She doesn’t hate you,” a voice came from behind her. Gideon whirled around as quickly as she could with a baby in her arms and found Rip smiling at her with Jonas at his side.

“I’m fairly certain she does. She won’t stop crying. Make her stop!” Gideon begged.

Rip laughed as he held out his arms. He looked to both Gideon and Felicity as he asked permission, “May I?” At Felicity’s nod, Gideon gladly handed over the baby. Rip held Meghan the same way Gideon had, though he bounced a little as he rubbed her back. Then she let out a little burp and stopped crying as she gurgled into Rip’s shoulder, “There we go. She was just a little gassy.”

“So she doesn’t need a bottle?” Felicity asked as she held one up.

“Probably not. Though, she seems a little sleepy, honestly,” Rip looked at her, “Whose is she?”

“My precious goddaughter. Where am I going to find a place for her to sleep?” Felicity wondered.

“I’d try the main offices on the other side. There’s usually a place for mothers with little kids,” Rip informed her as he handed her the baby.

“Good to know,” Felicity turned to Gideon a guilty look on her face, “Are you going to hate me?”

“No. Of course not,” Gideon sighed and waved her off, “Go put her to sleep.” Felicity smiled and kissed Gideon quick on the cheek before bouncing off with the stroller and baby.

“And then there was one. It would seem I have now been effectively abandoned by everyone today,” Gideon sighed as she turned to look at Rip and Jonas.

“You should just come and hang out with us. It’ll be fun!” Jonas grabbed her hand.

“I don’t want to ruin your father-son bonding time,” Gideon argued.

“You’re not. All our friends are around somewhere. We’re just alone for the moment too. Come on, it’ll be fun,” Rip held out a hand for her as well. Gideon smiled and thanked him as she took his hand and Jonas’ and they walked back into the crowd.

“Come on, Dad! I wanna win the prizes!” Jonas dragged them over to one of the shooting games to play next.

Rip rolled his eyes as he corrected his son, “You want me to play and win you stuff. What do you say Gideon, rematch for the last time?” Gideon laughed and agreed as the three of them lined up with their dart guns and got ready to shoot the targets.

Gideon jumped up and down as she shot her last target, letting out a victorious shout, “Yes! I win!”

Rip laughed as he watched her, “Alright. Pick your prize.”

“What do you think, Jonas?” Gideon asked.

“That one! No that one! I can’t decide!” Jonas exclaimed as he excitedly pointed to two of the smaller stuffed animals: a tiger and a lion.

“Alright then, we’ll get both of them,” Gideon turned over to ask for the two toys and turned back to them handing the toys to the Hunters, “Here you are.” Jonas eyes widened and he automatically reached for the toys before Rip stopped him.

“Jonas, you can’t just take them,” Rip scolded him then he turned to Gideon, “You won them, you don’t have to share.”

“Oh come on, Rip. It’s a present, and a reminder of how I’m better than you. Here, you can have the lion,” Gideon played with the lion in front of his face. Rip shoved her hand away with a laugh but took the stuffed toy when he saw Gideon’s hopeful smile. Jonas took his toy too with a thanks and then insisted they go to the haunted house next.

“I’m not entirely sure a haunted house is the best idea. Won’t you get nightmares, Jonas?” Gideon asked as they walked over.

“No. Mom loves the scary stuff. We do this all the time, Halloween is fun!” Jonas said excitedly.

“Oh and I suppose when you do get nightmares you’re going to deal with them yourself, now are you?” Rip asked his son. Seeing Jonas’ nervous look, Rip chuckled and ruffled his hair and pulled him into a side hug. Rip spared Gideon a look and noticed the nervous look on her face. He swung an arm around her waist and leaned in as he teased, “Don’t worry you can hold my hand if you get scared.”

Gideon shoved Rip away from her as she rolled her eyes. But that didn’t stop her from taking Rip’s hand as they entered the dark house. Gideon could hear the screams of the people ahead of them reverberating against the walls and squeezed Rip’s hand tighter.

“You’re going to cut off my circulation pretty soon,” Rip muttered. Gideon held one of his hands and he had an arm around Jonas so his son didn’t run off on him.

“I should have waited outside. Or just gone with Felicity. This was a terrible idea,” Gideon complained as they turned a corner.

“Don’t worry, Gideon. It’ll be fine,” Jonas tried to calm her down, “None of it is re-AAHH!” Jonas screamed and turned into his father as something jumped out from behind the statue. Gideon screamed in response to Jonas screaming and threw herself onto Rip as well. Rip for his part was more surprised by the two armfuls he now had of Jonas and Gideon than he was by the scare attack by the carnival worker. He had done enough haunted houses with Miranda to know how these things worked. It was at that point a flash went off around them; their picture had been taken.

“Alright, you two. I think you’ve had enough. Can you loosen your grips so we can keep moving and get out of here please?” Rip grunted as he tried to peel the two of them off of him. Gideon pulled away easier than Jonas (who clinged to his dad) though she did take his hand again as they walked out. Once out of the haunted house, Rip bought the photo they had taken of the three of them.

“Aww look at us. You’re both so brave,” Rip teased as he showed them the photo. Jonas blushed and hugged his dad and Gideon huffed as she glared at him. The photo showed them quite clearly: Jonas had his arms wrapped around his dad’s waist and his face buried in Rip’s chest, Gideon on the other hand had her arms wrapped around Rip’s neck and her face in his shoulder, Rip for his part looked more startled and off-balance than anything as he held the two of them upright.

“I am definitely keeping this one,” Rip announced. Before Gideon could comment, two women ran up to Rip, the smaller one grabbing Jonas in a hug.

“Jonas! You wanna do the water ride with us?” the brunette asked. Then she looked up and saw Gideon standing next to Rip and teased, “I think your dad would like to be alone now anyways. I’m Thea by the way. And this is Sara,” she pointed to the blonde next to her.

“Hello, I’m Gideon,” Gideon introduced herself.

“Wait you’re Gideon?” Sara looked her up and down with big eyes and an even bigger smile on her face, “But you’re – you’re you know-”

“What?” Gideon asked worriedly as she gave her own outfit a onceover.

“You’re hot,” Sara finished. Gideon had no idea how to respond to that statement properly and chose to stay silent. She glanced over to Rip for some help and found him biting back a laugh. How rude.

“If you think I’m not pretty that’s fine, you don’t have to laugh about it,” Gideon huffed.

Rip rolled his eyes as he flippantly dismissed her concerns, “Shut up. You’re gorgeous. That’s not why I’m laughing. Sara, stop flirting with her. You’re already in a committed relationship, and no she isn’t joining. Here take Jonas to another ride.” Rip pushed a confused looking Jonas (he didn’t understand adults half the time) towards the two woman. Thea waved by as she took Jonas and pulled a still grumbling Sara with her.

Once they had left Rip turned to Gideon (who was desperately hoping her blush had died down), “Don’t suppose you’re hungry by any chance, it’d be nice to pay you back for the stuffed animals.” When Gideon shook her head, Rip continued, “Well then, fancy going on the Ferris Wheel with me instead?” Gideon nodded and they headed off in that direction.

As they took their seats Gideon finally spoke up again, “So how’s it going with Patty? Why isn’t she here today?”

“Do we always have to talk about my dates when we’re together?” Rip gave her a pointed look.

“I’m your matchmaker, it’s my job,” Gideon reminded him.

“You’re off the clock now, or you should be. We met completely by serendipity today, unless you really are stalking me. And besides, we’re friends too,” Rip stated it as a fact. As one would state that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. It just was.

“Right. Of course we are,” Gideon breathed slightly surprised. They were friends, why wouldn’t they be? They had been in constant presence around each other for the past two months. Why did it surprise her so much? She continued, “Then as your friend, tell me how it’s going with Patty?”

Rip shook his head with a disbelieving smile, “It’s going well. We had lunch together this past week. I didn’t invite her because it was honestly just going to be a friends thing. I’m not sure I’m ready to expose her to all the craziness that is my normal life.”

“Well do you know when you will be ready? I mean, if it’s going well, and you think she’s the one. Then all you have to do is tell me and we’ll consider you matchmade and you won’t need our services anymore,” Gideon told him quietly.

“I didn’t say that,” Rip said after a long moment of silence. He didn’t look at her, just stared at the view as they came to the top of the wheel, “Can we talk about something else now?”

“Rip-”

“What happened to the customer is always right? And client satisfaction?” Rip teased.

“I thought you just said we were friends?”

“I can be both,” Rip looked at her seriously then, “I don’t want to talk about it now.”

Gideon’s phone buzzed next to her, opened it up and found a text from Ray asking where she was. She sighed and responded then looked back at Rip, “Alright, we won’t talk about it now. But it is something we need to talk about. During business hours. I’ll have to find Ray after this anyways.”

Rip nodded as he fidgeted with his stuffed toy, “I figured. I suppose I’ll have to find Jonas as well. Can we just enjoy the moment for now?” Gideon smiled and nodded and leaned back to take in the view. Rip wished he could feel as peaceful as Gideon looked, but there was a knot in his stomach that just wouldn’t go away.

* * *

 

Sara watched as Rip dug his phone out of his pocket at and frowned at it. She turned to Len beside her and bet with her eyes, thirty seconds before he caved. Len  raised his beer bottle in response and nodded, challenge accepted. They waited as they counted, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thir – Rip answered the phone.

“You don’t usually call at this time. What’s wrong?” Rip asked as he got up from the table and wandered into the kitchen. Sara grinned at Len and pocketed the five dollar bill he handed her. She leaned over and gave him a kiss before heading to the kitchen, she always enjoyed watching these conversations take place.

“Of course you can call whenever you like, you know I didn’t mean it that way. Besides you usually call the house phone, not my mobile. Stop twisting my words, it’s annoying,” Rip gave Sara the ‘dad look’ as she walked in. She merely shrugged and leaned against the fridge as she continued watching him. Rip leaned against the counter as he continued talking.

“Oh no of course it is, sorry to ruin your fun…Uh huh, of course I am…What day?...No, of course that works, he’ll be happy to hear it…Sure…Yes, I’m sure…I can take the morning off, you’ll be around anyways for the afternoon…well I can’t leave you stranded at the airport now can I? I tried that last time and you said it was rude…Obviously…I will remember, and even if I don’t you’re probably going to call repeatedly to remind me anyways…no, you just like to nag me…Uh huh, whatever you say, dear, anything else?...so you’ve said…Hold on, I’ll get him for you.”

Rip put the phone to his chest and yelled, “Jonas, phone!” Jonas came running into the kitchen with Len behind him. Rip handed him the phone, “It’s Mum. She wants to talk to you.”

“Hi Mum!” Jonas greeted as he took the phone. He turned around and started babbling away to his mother, eventually taking the phone outside to the backyard with Len following him again.

“So how’s Miranda?” Sara asked with a Cheshire grin on her face.

“She’s fine, coming for a visit soon for Jonas’ birthday. And I get to pick her up from the airport,” Rip moved Sara aside so he could open the fridge and start fixing lunch for all of them. When he turned around he shot Sara a discouraging look, “Wipe that grin off your face. I don’t know why you always like to eavesdrop on our conversations, what on earth are you hoping for?”

Sara shrugged, “I don’t know. I always figured being divorced, you guys would be more at each other’s throats or overly polite. But you just talk so normally, isn’t it weird?”

“Why would it be weird? We’re still friends. Otherwise parenting Jonas would be much more difficult,” Rip informed her.

“Then why didn’t you just stay married?”

“Now you just sound like Jonas. You were barely even around when we were married. Besides, we all know it didn’t end well at the time.”

“Ah yes, the infamous Thanksgiving Dinner,” Sara smiled as she leaned against the counter next to Rip.

“We don’t talk about that, ever,” Rip warned her with a bread knife.

“You know I could kill you with that thing, right?” Sara pointed out dangerously.

“A fact I am constantly aware of,” Rip seemed nonplussed, “But then you’d have to remember that you’d all be responsible for Jonas until Miranda gets here.”

“Ah well there goes that plan,” Sara joked. Rip hummed in agreement before she continued, “So have you told her you’re dating yet?”

“Not yet, I don’t see how it’s any of her business. She’s my ex-wife, emphasis on the ex. She has no say in my love life or lack of,” Rip said.

“I thought things were going well with Patty?” Sara questioned with a frown.

“They are.”

“So what’s wrong?” Sara asked.

“What makes you think something’s wrong? Things are fine. She’s a nice girl,” Rip repeated.

“Nice and makes your heart race aren’t exactly the same thing,” Sara pointed out quietly. She would know, it was how Len made her feel all the time.

“She’s nice. I just don’t know if she’s the one yet. As for hearts racing, I haven’t felt that way in a long time anyways,” Rip shrugged, “I’m a single dad, I’ll take what I can get at this point. It’s hard to find someone that’s willing to put up with all the craziness of this life.”

“Well how long are you going to wait to see?” Sara asked.

“Now you’re beginning to sound like Gideon,” Rip muttered.

“Well maybe she has a point, I mean, what exactly are you waiting for? What magical sign is there that’s going to say ‘this woman is the one for you’?” Sara waved her hands to emphasize her point.

“I’ll know when I see it. Let’s leave my love life for Gideon to handle, she’s the matchmaker after all,” Rip told her closing the conversation, “Let’s talk about something else. How’s your love life going?”

Sara crossed her arms and gave him a pointed look, “Something tells me you already know more than you let on.”

“Len might have mentioned a few things,” Rip admitted sheepishly.

“Like the fact that he wants to marry me?”

“Like that,” Rip agreed, “Thoughts on it?”

Sara sighed as she leaned against Rip, “I don’t know. I love him, I really, really do. And I could see myself with him forever. I mean he’s so amazing with kids – with Jonas. He’d make a great dad, and sometimes he even makes me want to be a mom. To his kids. But my parents got divorced. You’re divorced, you can’t tell me there’s not a risk.”

“I think you all need to stop using my divorce as an excuse for not moving forward in your own love lives,” Rip scolded, “You can’t all be scared of it. So I’m divorced, it’s hardly the end of the world. I have Jonas, hell I still have Miranda in my life. And she’s still plenty involved in Jonas’ life, even if she is always half way across the world. Believe it or not, I was happy before this matchmaking business. And it’s not like I’ve given up on love and am depressed all the time, I’m still trying, aren’t I?”

“But didn’t it break your heart?” Sara asked with fear in her eyes.

“Yes,” Rip answered truthfully, “But it also broke the first time Jonas said he hated me when he was mad at me. When I was seven and every other kid was getting adopted and I was left alone. When I got rejected by the first girl I ever really liked. Everyone gets their heart broken. And everyone can come back from that, Sara.”

“I don’t think I can bare losing Len,” Sara whispered.

“I don’t think you would. Even if you don’t get married, he’s too far gone for you to do something as stupid as break up with you over that,” Rip assured her, “But if that’s all you’re worried about, then it’s a stupid reason. It may not have lasted forever like we promised each other, but I don’t regret my marriage for a single second.” And he didn’t, it was just another experience that made him who he was today. And Rip wouldn’t change that for anything.

* * *

 

“So everyone’s coming to game night?” Thea asked again for confirmation.

“Yes, hopefully my house will still be standing by the end of it. I don’t even think it’s large enough to accommodate everybody,” Rip complained as he took a look around the gathering already in the room.

“You should have kept the old house. It was roomier,” Leonard told him as he walked by.

Jonas nodded sadly, “I miss my old room.”

Rip rolled his eyes, “You were seven when we moved, and you barely even remember the colour of the walls.”

“Blue!”

“They were grey and black. You were going through a space phase,” Rip corrected his son. Putting up the glow in the dark stars on the ceiling had been a painful experience for all of them. Jonas huffed as he was proven wrong and proceeded to cross his arms and sulk. Kendra gave him a hug and made him smile though, so Rip figured he’d been forgiven.

So far in attendance for game night were Kendra, the Queens, the Lances and the Snarts. It occurred to Rip that he had a lot of friends that were already siblings, and perhaps this was some sort of unconscious reaction to being an only child. But he would leave the psychoanalysis to Gideon, she liked doing it often enough. Now they were just waiting on Jax and their new friends who would be arriving any moment now. It had taken ages but they were finally having the two friend circles meet properly so there would be no more awkward introductions that weren’t even needed in the first place.

Sure enough ten minutes later the doorbell rang and Rip’s home was invaded by various more people piling in. Many bringing drinks and desserts as a welcome gift for the host. Rip liked them better than his current lot of friends already, they had manners. Jax went around and introduced his friends to what he call ‘the wedding party’ but what Rip called ‘matchmakers and company’.

Originally Rip had thought of inviting only Gideon, but Jax had caught on and took that as an opportunity to invite everybody. So there was Gideon (obviously), Felicity and Iris (because matchmakers), Wally (who everyone already knew as Jax’s best friend), Ray and Lily (the soon to be wedded couple), Caitlin who had also brought along Cisco (because Rip had been serious about keeping a friendship with the woman). And to round it out Rip had left an open invitation for Barry and Nate as well, so neither felt left out. And sure enough they were all here.

“I brought wine,” Felicity held up a bottle, “I hope that’s okay. I wasn’t entirely sure what to bring, so I figured alcohol was the best way to make friends. It gets people talking. Unless you’re me, in which case I should really stop talking. Right now. Stopping. Now.” Felicity looked away, already worried about the first impression she made.

“I’ll take that,” Oliver reached out for the bottle with a kind smile.

“Thanks. That’s really nice of you. And you have pretty eyes, I mean, if I were to notice your eyes. Which I didn’t, or did. Whatever is less weird. Why isn’t anyone else talking? Or stopping me?” Felicity looked around and glared at her friends at the betrayal.

“I wanted to see how far you were going to go,” Gideon answered as she stood next to Rip.

“Oh we’re definitely keeping you,” Thea laughed as she threw an arm around Felicity. Slowly the new guests took that as a cue to move into the living room for game night.

“I don’t think my house has ever been this full, it’s a little disconcerting,” Rip told Gideon as everyone settled into the living room.

“We promise not to break anything or run any sort of life threatening experiment,” Lily promised. She got stares from many of Rip’s friends and smile from Len. He liked her, he decided.

“That was a joke. I think?” Wally spoke up.

“Most of us are science nerds. It’s an occupational hazard,” Caitlin told them.

“See, this is why we chose history,” Nate pointed to Rip and himself as Rip nodded along in agreement. It was a much safer occupation.

“Alright. Obviously, first thank you, for inviting us all to game night. I know taking all of us in probably wasn’t your first choice,” Ray thanked them.

“Well we wanted to see who the kid was always hanging out with. Wanted to make sure he had good influences,” Len smirked as Jax rolled his eyes. Like Len and Mick ever counted as good influences themselves.

“So game night!” Cisco clapped his hands in excitement, “We do stuff like this and movie nights at the Wests’ usually. But this is going to be fun with all you guys. So, what’re the house rules?”

“We normally play in teams,” Thea told him, “I think we’re going to have a lot more teams than usual. But it’s fine.”

“And one of the major rules is that you can’t play on the same team with someone that you’re close to. So I can’t play with Sara because we’re sisters. And Rip can’t play with Jonas on his team,” Laurel explained.

“And you can’t play with my sister. Keep three feet distance between the two of you at all times. Hands where I can see them!” Leonard glared at Cisco until the younger man scooched away fearfully. Lisa rolled her eyes and moved right back next to him though, her brother was way too overprotective at times.

“It goes for romantic relationships too,” Sara said, “So I can’t be on a team with Len.”

“So Lily and I can’t be together, but can Gideon and I be on the same team if she’s like my sister but not technically?” Ray asked in confusion.

“I say we leave that up to you,” Rip looked at Gideon, “Whatever you like. If we were to start segregating based on close friendships none of us would be able to play together.”

“The only exception to the rules is when Miranda plays with us. Then Jonas gets to play with his mom,” Kendra finished.

“You have game nights with your ex-wife?” Nate asked.

“Why does no one understand the idea of being friends with your ex?” Rip asked aloud. The newcomers decided to stay quiet not knowing Rip well enough to comment on his personal life.

“Because it’s weird,” Sara answered with no fear.

“Also, Thanksgiving,” Leonard mentioned with a smirk.

“Shut up. We’re starting game night. Now!” Rip ordered.

Game night commenced as per usual, but with much more commotion. Leonard constantly eyeballed his sister and threatened Cisco (much to Caitlin’s joy). Wally kept telling his sister and Barry to stop all the PDA, which in turn made them tell Lily and Ray to stop as well. Thea meanwhile had her eye on her brother who was cozying up to Felicity rather nicely, looked like they might not need to sign him up for matchmaking after all.

At some point in the night Ray announced, “You should all come to the wedding! You’ll come right? We can add them to the guest list, right?” He didn’t look at Lily though (who was already nodding along) he looked at Gideon.

Gideon glared at him and rubbed her temples as she grumbled, “Fine.”

“Are we allowed to fire them as our clients?” Felicity asked out loud. It wasn’t that she didn’t want their new friends there, but it was more work. Though they could probably just add an extra table and be done with it, there should have been enough food. Martin Stein wanted everything to be perfect for his baby girl’s wedding and tended to go overboard much to Lily’s embarrassment.

“Why would they be clients if they’re already together?” Lisa asked confused.

“Not for matchmaking. Wedding planning,” Iris answered, “We don’t just matchmake, though that’s our main thing. We do wedding planning, help with adopting, buying new homes, college scholarships. We help people.”

“Just like Gideon always planned when she first started the company,” Felicity praised.

Gideon blushed under the scrutiny of gazes and shifted uncomfortably next to Rip. She always hated being the center of attention, she liked working behind the scenes. In her office with her laptop.

“Like I told you, I don’t need all the money. I put it to good use. Ray does the same thing with his company too. He’s just better known for his philanthropy is all,” Gideon said quietly trying to dismiss the facts, “Besides, why do you think I’m always working? It’s not all just code. We have a lot of paperwork to worry about too.”

“Still, not many people would go out of their way to do all that,” Rip commended her. He felt a bit ashamed at how much he had disparaged her and her coding when they first met. She did so much more than that. Though, he should have realized that after knowing her for as long as he had now. Gideon had nothing but love and kindness in her heart.

Gideon blushed again, ignoring goosebumps she felt under Rip’s intense gaze. Before she could respond her phone started buzzing. She looked at in and frowned as Ray sighed in response. Gideon gave him a guilty look before looking back at Rip, “Speaking of work, I really need to take this, is there somewhere I can talk?”

Rip nodded and pointed to the kitchen. Gideon thanked him and picked up the phone as she walked away, “What is it Winn?”

As Gideon left, the games slowly resumed and the conversation restarted, this time mostly questions about Ray and Lily’s wedding coming up. Rip waited five minutes before becoming impatient and excusing himself to get a drink from the kitchen. He frowned in confusion at Kendra who was laughing at him for some reason, but he really didn’t have time to deal with her right now.

As Rip walked into the kitchen Gideon was finishing up her phone call, “No, I understand…No, it’s probably for the best you called tonight…why does no one believe I have a life?...I’m ignoring that…No I can get her set up, don’t worry…Alright, thanks Winn. I have to let him know now anyways. Good night.”

Gideon hung up the phone and looked up at Rip with a guilty look on her face.

“What’s wrong?” Rip asked.

“Did you really, really like Patty?” Gideon asked nervously.

Rip crossed his arms as he leaned against the counter in front of her, “I like her well enough. Why?”

“Patty got a new job. As a CSI, it’s something she’s always wanted. So she’s taking it. And moving to Portland,” Gideon looked at him with big eyes and placed her hands on his arms, “Oh Rip, I’m so sorry.”

Rip blinked, “Sorry? For what? She got her dream job, good for her!”

Gideon stared at him, tilting her head as she examined him to make sure he wasn’t just hiding his true feelings of hurt. But as she looked in his eyes, Gideon found no pain. Just humor as he looked at her.

“Aren’t you even the least bit upset? Or are you planning on doing long distance? I suppose we could work with that as well,” Gideon contemplated. Logistically it would be a bit complicated but she could handle it if that was what Rip wanted.

“I’m not good at long distance. If I was, I probably would have stayed married longer than I was,” Rip rolled his eyes, “Besides, if her matchmaker called you, I’m guessing she wasn’t planning on keeping a relationship with me either.”

“Then why aren’t you upset? I thought you liked her? And things were going so well, I thought for sure this girl might be the one,” Gideon whined.

“She was very nice. But clearly she wasn’t the one. Besides, I was with Miranda for nearly ten years. One month doesn’t really compare to that. So no, I’m not particularly heartbroken over this. Though you certainly seem like it.” Rip playfully curled a finger under her chin to force her face up so he could see her pout properly. It was rather adorable how seriously she took his dating life.

Gideon grabbed his finger and shoved it away but held onto his hand as she sulked, “I’m your matchmaker and half your allotted time is almost over and I’m right back to square one. Of course I’m upset.”

“Oh come here,” Rip teased as pulled Gideon against him, her back against his front. He rubbed his hands up and down her arms as he soothed her, “I have full faith that you’ll find my soulmate for me by the end of the six months.”

“You know I can still hear the sarcasm in your voice even when I can’t see you, right?”

“And here I thought I was doing such a good job at hiding it. Darn,” Rip teased. He put his arm around her and pulled her with him as he started walking back to the living room, “Worry about who I’ll date tomorrow. It’s game night, everything else is forgotten on these nights. Including my love life.”

* * *

 

Rip knocked on the door and then leaned against the wall as he waited. Sure enough, thirty seconds later Gideon appeared as she opened and closed the door behind her, not even sparing him a glance as she did so.

“Well someone’s in a good mood,” Rip teased.

Gideon shot him a sharp look, “I’m just not feeling well. I have a headache and I already took medicine but it’s not going away. Now come on.” In fact her head had been hurting the last two days and she had woken up with a somewhat sore throat. But she couldn’t afford to get sick now, or ever really.

“Of course, wouldn’t want to be late for our date,” Rip raised his hands in surrender as he followed her.

“Your date,” Gideon corrected, “I’m just here because you insist on acting like a child that constantly needs saving. Tell me again why we’re driving together?”

Rip shrugged not making eye contact as he opened the car door, “It seems pointless for us to take separate cars when we’re going to the exact same place anyways. Besides, I’m buying you ice cream after as a thank you, deal?”

“You better,” Gideon muttered as she sat down in the car. Then she sighed and looked at him, “Right, so her name is Lyra-”

“And she likes art and music which makes you seem to think she’s a good match for me,” Rip finished for her, giving her a pointed look as he drove.

“Eyes on the road! And let me do my job,” Gideon snapped, “It was hard enough to pull this together so quickly after Patty left. You being so negative all the time doesn’t help!”

“I’m surprised you were able to pull this together so quickly after Patty left,” Rip repeated, “You must have been rather eager to get me another date. Did you miss me that much?”

“I feel like I see you far too often for a client, actually,” Gideon said to herself. Rip frowned at her words, they were friends, not just a customer relationship. Gideon fidgeted with her phone in her hands before she spoke again, “I’m nearly halfway done with our six months. And I have almost nothing to show for it, so yes. I might be a little overeager. I made you a promise, and I intend to keep it.” Gideon gave him such a serious look, Rip had to look away from the force of it.

“Besides,” Gideon continued, “You’re the one that insisted on a coffee date instead an actual date. It was easier to set up.”

“Coffee still counts,” Rip told her.

“Not to me. Otherwise we’d be dating. And Ray would be cheating on Lily with me,” Gideon frowned. Then she shook her head and asked, “Why can you not just keep to the regular schedule we had planned? You’re constantly changing it!”

“Father of a ten year old. There is no such thing as a set plan, you’ve got to be flexible. You might learn from that too. Besides, it’s his last day at this summer camp and they’re putting on a show. I want to be there for it, so yes. Schedule changes as I say,” Rip gave her a look as he parked the car. Gideon huffed as they both got out, she stood in front of him and gave him a onceover. No suit, but she was letting that slide since it was just coffee in the daytime anyways. And Rip had somewhere to be after.

“Right, well it looks like we’re just in time. She’s not here yet,” Gideon looked through the coffeeshop windows, “Just as well. It probably doesn’t look too good if you arrive on your date with another woman. That being said, I’m going to make myself scarce.”

“And what are you planning on doing?” Rip asked, hands in his pockets as he looked at her.

Gideon shrugged as she looked around to see what was close by. Normally she’d be at a coffeeshop but seeing as that was where the date was, that wouldn’t work. She looked down the street and smiled, “There, bookstore. I’ll be there if you need me.”

“I thought you were against anything that didn’t come on your tablet?” Rip joked.

“Don’t be rude, Mr. Hunter,” Gideon scolded as Rip rolled his eyes at her, “Knowledge is power after all. In any form. I’ll see you soon, I guess?”

Rip nodded, both in agreement and in acknowledgement, “Of course. Ice cream after. Promise.” Rip squeezed her shoulder as he walked by her to enter the coffeeshop. Gideon shook her head and made her own way down the street to the bookstore.

She browsed the store looking for something to read, normally she would have just pulled out her tablet and started working but she didn’t usually get time to herself. And she hadn’t lied before, she really did enjoy reading. Not only the science journals and technology magazines she was subscribed to; fiction was fun too. She finally found the book she had been hoping for; a distant memory from her childhood at this point. Gideon settled down in on the floor leaning against a bookshelf, phone by her side just in case Rip did call, and soon lost herself in her book.

She didn’t know how much time had passed until someone settled down next to her, far too close than she cared for. Gideon immediately startled and prepared to yell at the intruder when she turned and saw Rip grinning at her.

“You nearly gave me a heart attack!” Gideon scolded him.

“Sorry, I’d been standing waiting for you to acknowledge me. But you didn’t even notice. Thought I’d join you,” Rip nudged her, “Chronicles of Narnia?”

“I always enjoyed it as a child. When I was little I was convinced I could escape to Narnia through my wardrobe. Anything to get away from my latest foster family,” Gideon quietly admitted. She saw the look of on Rip’s face and quickly backtracked, “Don’t do that. I don’t want your pity.”

Rip took Gideon’s hand in his own and refused to let go even as she tugged on it, “Gideon, it’s not pity. It’s empathy. I do remember a time at the orphanage before I was adopted too, it wasn’t that fun.”

“Do you remember your real parents?” Gideon whispered.

“I have a vague recollection of a man with blond hair, but other than that nothing. Mary is the only mother I’ve ever known and the only parent I care to call family,” Rip told her.

“I don’t remember anything about mine. I was given up as a baby, I don’t even have something of theirs to hold on to. They didn’t die or anything, the lady at the orphanage always said they just gave me away. I always wondered what was so wrong with me that my own parents couldn’t love me,” Gideon breathed.

Rip squeezed the hand he was holding, his other hand moved her hair out her face so he could look at her properly. Her eyes were shining with tears, he reached out to brush away a phantom tear, or in case she did cry.

Instead Gideon flinched back as she took his hands off him and got up. Rip followed suit as she cleared her throat and spoke roughly, “Sorry, you didn’t need to know any of that.” Not a single tear escaped her eyes and when she looked back at him her face was perfectly calm again.

Gideon grabbed at his arm to look at the time, “It’s barely even been an hour! Why are you back so early?”

“It was coffee. Not a meal. And I saw no need to extend more time with her. She’s not the one anyways. So I told her I had somewhere to be and left. Which reminds me, we do have to go now or we’ll be late,” Rip turned and began walking out of the store. Gideon huffed as she hurried after him, he was her ride after all.

“Rip! Would you slow down?” Gideon hurried after him. He didn’t slow his pace until they reached the car and he opened the door for her, ever the gentleman. Rip gave her a pointed look and nodded towards the car, indicating her to get in. Gideon crossed her arms and glared at him, but Rip didn’t back down. So Gideon scowled some more but got into the car at last.

Gideon seethed quietly until they were properly on the road before she attacked him, “What was wrong with her? You barely even gave her a chance!”

“I was with her long enough to know it wouldn’t work. She was plenty nice, a little intimidating, if a little strange at times. But Patty was also nice, and let’s be honest that relationship wasn’t really going anywhere either,” Rip told her as he drove.

“Did you not like her? I don’t understand,” Gideon tried again.

“I liked her I suppose. She was knowledgeable about different arts so we talked about that for a bit. And then she told me everything she knows about space, which is a lot by the way. I’m still not entirely sure she’s not related to Lisa and Len somehow, what with the L-name and penchant for petty thievery when they were younger,” Rip frowned at the thought.

“Well why didn’t you like her? She sounds great!”

“And I’m sure she was, just not for me,” Rip agreed as he pulled into a parking lot.

“You are only making my job more difficult for me if you can’t give me a real reason you didn’t like her!” Gideon argued.

“Alright then, she was blonde. You know I prefer brunettes,” Rip winked at her.

“Rip!” Gideon crossed her arms and continued to glare at him. Rip sighed as he turned off the ignition and they sat there in silence for a few minutes.

“She was just nice. They’re all just nice,” Rip told her, “Caitlin, Patty, they’re all nice. But that’s it. Sara was right, none of them make my heart race. I don’t feel butterflies around them. I don’t look forward to the next time I’m going to see them. There’s no connection beyond them being nice. And that’s not enough to make a relationship, and should never be mistaken for falling in love with a person. Okay?” Rip looked at her intensely as he finished his quiet spiel.

“Okay,” Gideon agreed. She reached out and placed a hand on his arm resting between them, “I’m sorry. I’ll do better next time.”

Rip chuckled as he shifted their position so he could take her hand in his own and give her a reassuring squeeze, “I’m not blaming you. It’s not your fault I apparently have high expectations and am basically impossible to match up.”

“I think that prize goes to me, I’m afraid,” Gideon murmured before properly looking outside, “Where are we?”

“I told you. It’s Jonas’ last day at summer camp so they’re putting on a performance. We’re going to go watch it.” Rip avoided eye contact as he let go of Gideon and got out of the car. Gideon followed him and crossed her arms as soon as she got out.

“You said we were getting ice cream.”

“And we are. Inside, while we watch the performance,” Rip jerked a thumb in the direction of the building.

“What kind of summer camp gives refreshments at a performance?” Gideon asked in confusion. The whole idea was completely absurd.

“A really good one that I spent a lot of money on. So we don’t want to be late, now do we?” Rip went behind her and tried to give her a small push forward, “And you left your tablet in the car, right? We don’t want to be rude to the kids and work all through their show.”

Gideon whirled around so she could face him, “You planned this, didn’t you?! Oh my god, did Ray put you up to this? He did, didn’t he?”

“No, I just-” Rip stopped as soon as he saw her glowering face, “Yes. He did. He just wants you to take a break from work, and I happen to agree. So let’s just go and enjoy the show now.”

“Take me home. Now.”

“I can’t, the show’s about to start, Gideon. Come on, please?” Rip poked at her cheek to try and make her smile but Gideon slapped his hand away. So instead he pulled her closer by the waist and placed his hands on her arms as he pleaded with her, “Come on. Jonas would love to see you there.”

Gideon groaned, “Using your son as leverage is really, really low.” But she let her stance weaken so Rip could finally push her forward with a hand on the small of her back.

“Yes,” Rip agreed as he leaned into her, “But it is one of the few perks I get of being a single father.”

“You use that as an excuse for everything,” Gideon grumbled.

“Only because it’s fair,” Rip threw back. The two entered the auditorium (after they had stopped and gotten Gideon’s promised ice cream) where parents were milling around and the lights were beginning to dim. Rip led them up an aisle and waved when he saw Kendra (who had apparently brought along Jax). There were no empty seats in their row so Rip and Gideon sat in front of them.

“Now, just sit and enjoy the show,” Rip whispered into Gideon’s ear as the lights went dark and the curtains raised. For the most part, Gideon was very well-behaved and didn’t even reach for her cellphone even once. She focused on her ice cream and once that was finished she paid attention to the show. But the temptation to reach for one of her devices was there, and sitting in one spot for so long did make her rather restless at times. Even at work she had been known to pace or need a change of scenery. Twice Rip had to reach over and hold her hand as she missed playing with her phone. And once he placed a hand on her thigh when she had been shaking it due to their inability to leave the place, but it was gone almost as soon as he had placed it there.

After the show (Gideon was proud to say that she was able to keep mostly still for a whole ninety minutes) they met up with Kendra and Jax and waited for Jonas to come find them when all the other kids came from backstage to meet their parents. They talked amongst themselves – though Rip’s eyes were always on the sea of children, looking for his son – until Jonas finally showed up in the crowd.

“Dad! Kendra!” Jonas yelled. He ran up to them, a bouquet of flowers in his hands, “Look at what Ms. Debby gave us! She said it was for being an awesome group and for putting on an amazing show.”

“Well that was certainly nice of her,” Rip laughed as he hugged his son.

“Hi Jax, hi Gideon. Did you guys come to see me too? Did you like the show?”

“Of course we did, little man. Wouldn’t miss it for the world! You did a great job!” Jax praised the kid with an arm around his shoulders.

Jonas turned around to face Gideon, flowers with him as he asked, “Did you like it, Gideon?”

“Yes of course I did, it was – achoo – sorry, it was great, I liked the – achoo – sorry, I can’t – achoo – flowers,” Gideon managed to get out before she took a few steps back and turned around and began sneezing some more.

“Oh, here,” Rip took the flowers from Jonas and handed them to Kendra who was furthest away from Gideon. He walked over to Gideon and grabbed her arms so she’d face him, “You going to be alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” Gideon said stuffily with her eyes slightly watering, “Just allergies. They’re terrible in the spring usually. Just flower pollen, and really just outdoors in general when things are in bloom. I could never be a florist. I suppose it’s a good thing my job revolves around hiding behind computers.”

“I’m sorry, Gideon. I didn’t know,” Jonas came up to her to apologize.

“Oh don’t be silly, I’m perfectly fine. And you were absolutely wonderful, Jonas!” Gideon told the boy with a smile.

“So how about we drive with the flowers so you guys can have a peaceful ride and we’ll meet you at the pizza place?” Kendra asked.

“That sounds good,” Rip agreed.

“You have to drop me off first,” Gideon reminded him.

“Why? Do you have plans that don’t involve work?” Rip asked rhetorically. He didn’t give her a chance to even form a response as he continued, “You’re coming with us to dinner. We’re celebrating Jonas.”

“I’m a big deal,” Jonas told her solemnly as Rip laughed at his son.

“Well I don’t want to intrude. It’s your family and friends-”

“You’re coming with us, you’re part of the group now too. Obviously,” Jonas told her as he took his dad’s hand and hers. Gideon felt a smile on her face as she allowed herself to be pulled along by the younger Hunter. She couldn’t help but think the young boy had most certainly gotten his father’s stubbornness.

* * *

 

Rip had barely even made it into the lobby when he saw Curtis and Felicity crowded around Iris’ desk. Before he could even get a word out Felicity turned to him.

“She’s not here. She’s sick. She’s never sick, and she claims she’s perfectly fine but she’s not!” Felicity rambled.

“What?” Rip asked in confusion. Sometimes Felicity just went too fast for him to keep up with.

“Gideon’s out sick,” Iris summarized, “And these two are worried about her.”

“When Gideon gets sick she tends to overwork herself. She’s terrible about taking care of herself,” Curtis explained.

“Well I suppose that explains why she hasn’t answered any of my calls or texts. I was getting a little worried, so I thought I’d stop by,” Rip said.

“Yeah, well she isn’t here. Oh but she thinks she’s fine enough to keep emailing me!” Felicity yelled as her phone pinged, “None of this even makes sense! That’s it, I’m going to go see her!”

“You have an appointment in a half hour, you can’t go. Neither of you can!” Iris reminded them.

“Well Ray is in meetings with shareholders all day and Lily’s in the lab and she hardly ever has her phone on her. Someone needs to take care of Gideon,” Felicity responded.

“I can go,” Rip offered. All three of them turned to stare at Rip. “What? I have a son, I’ve taken care of sick people before. And I don’t have any meetings today, and Nate can take care of anything that does come up for me. I can do it.”

The three of them exchanged looks before Felicity turned back to Rip, “She keeps a spare key in the potted plant next to her door. Use that, I don’t trust her to get the door by herself. Let us know how she’s doing?”

“Of course, I’ll text you,” Rip promised as he waved his goodbyes and turned out of the building. The drive to Gideon’s apartment was relatively fast due to the low traffic. And Rip was easily able to locate the spare key as per Felicity’s instructions. Still he felt a little like he was breaking and entering so he knocked on the door as he opened it to give Gideon some warning that he was coming in.

Rip had never been inside of Gideon’s apartment before. There didn’t seem to be much of a personal touch, save for the few photos of Gideon and her friends on the mantle. There wasn’t much furniture other than the staples, and it was for the most part well cleaned. Rip had forgotten what that was like, what with the son and constant influx of guests. But there were only some papers lying on the dining table (it didn’t cross Rip that the place barely seemed used for eating purposes) and the mess on the leather sofa.

Rip frowned at the sofa some more. The laptop was out on the table, the television was on in the background with low volume. There was a trash can almost filled with used tissues next to the table. And now that he took a closer look, the pile of clothes on the sofa was not that, but Gideon.

“Oh, you look absolutely terrible,” Rip cooed at her.

Gideon turned to look at him with a frown, almost as if she didn’t understand he was there. Then she looked at her laptop and back to him. Most of her voice was drowned in coughing as she rasped, “You’re here. In my home…why?”

Gideon tried to get up but began wobbling as soon as she stood up. Rip ran to her side to stabilize her and sat her back down. He could feel her shivering under his touch as she stared at him with vacant eyes. Her hair was messily pulled back into a ponytail and she was wearing a simple tank top and sweatpants. She hadn’t even the sense to put on a sweater. Rip placed a hand on her forehead and then on her neck; she was definitely had a fever.

“Right, first where’s your medicine?” Rip asked. Gideon vaguely waved in the direction of the kitchen behind them. Rip sighed, clearly she wasn’t up to giving proper help. He got up and headed to the cabinets where he raided each one until he found what he was looking for. He came back to her and poured out a spoonful of the cold medicine. “Come on, open up. I think you’re slightly delirious.” Gideon didn’t put up a fight and did as she was told, he rather missed the constant arguing.

“Now then, blankets? And sweaters and clothes?” Rip ordered.

“Bedroom,” Gideon mumbled as she leaned against him, her head burrowing into his chest, “Mm, you’re warm.”

Rip chuckled as he slowly pulled her away from him, “Yes and if you give me a second I’ll get you some things so that you can stay warm without using me as your own personal space heater. I’m just going to have a look in your bedroom, okay? I promise not to snoop around.” Rip got up leaving her on the couch by herself, she looked rather lost and miserable so he hurried on his mission. The blanket was easy enough; in the linen closet in the hallway. Finding a sweater and socks was slightly more difficult. He opened and closed the drawers in her room quickly, not bothering to check the contents properly if it didn’t seem like what he wanted was in them. He didn’t want to invade Gideon’s privacy more than he already had. Eventually he found what he was looking for and headed back to the living room.

Gideon was back on her laptop as he had expected. The man sighed and closed it shut ignoring her feeble protests. He handed her the clothes and told her to put them on properly. Once she was dressed warmly he bundled her up in the blanket and laid her down on the couch. He considered moving her to the bedroom, but decided it was too much of a trip to carry her.

“Just get some rest, please. You’ll feel better when you wake up. No thinking about work, just rest,” Rip soothed as he stroked her forehead.

“Will you stay with me?” Gideon whispered.

“Of course I will. I’ve got nowhere else to be,” Rip promised, “I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

* * *

 

Gideon stirred quietly, she could feel herself returning from a dream world. Like she was flying back to her body. There had been a boat, maybe? She could barely remember already. She groaned as she buried herself into her pillow, she didn’t want to wake up yet. Her pillow chuckled and something spiderlike moved through her hair. It felt nice. Gideon could almost fall asleep right then and there again…

Pillows shouldn’t chuckle. And there certainly should not have been spiders in her hair!

Gideon woke with a start, as she fought the grogginess and began flailing for safety. Something grabbed her arms and forced them down so she was pinned against her pillow, and there was a lot of shushing.

“Will you relax? Stop trying to hurt me!”

Gideon calmed at the voice, British and dry. That voice was comforting.

“Rip?” Gideon looked up and sure enough there was Rip, a small smile on his face as he looked at her. Her head was on his chest and she was sprawled out on the length of the couch under a blanket while Rip had his feet up on the table. He was still lightly stroking her hair; it was just as soothing as it was before. There was something playing in the background and she looked at the television to see he had Netflix on.

“You properly awake now? You’ve been drifting in and out for a while. You’re quite adorable when you sleep,” Rip teased.

“Shut up. What are you even doing here?” Gideon asked as she fought her cheeks heating up.

“You were sick and everyone was worried, I came to check on you,” Rip said, the anger seeping into his voice.

“And here I thought you just wanted to snoop through my Netflix,” Gideon accused jokingly, taking her mind off his voice.

“I made you some soup and then I decided to keep you company. You like to cuddle, did you know? So I made the most of it and looked through your Netflix, you have a lot of romcoms on here,” Rip commented.

“My job is being a matchmaker, why does it surprise you that I like romcoms?” Gideon asked dumbfounded. She began to sit up properly, wrapping the blanket around herself as she kept her eyes on Rip.

“I really don’t understand the pull of watching two people dance around each other for two hours before they finally realize they’re meant to be,” Rip muttered. He reached over and placed a hand on her forehead and neck again, her fever had finally subsided. And she seemed more coherent than when he had first arrived.

“You’d be surprised at how often I’ve had to deal with it at work,” Gideon replied as she thought of Iris and Barry. Then she remembered, “Did you say you made soup?”

“Yes, do you want some?” Rip began to move before Gideon stopped him.

“No. Not hungry just yet, I’m just surprised you found ingredients to make soup with. I don’t usually cook, the place is usually empty.”

“Well it seemed rather well stocked to me,” Rip frowned. Most of the fridge had been full with food. It looked like Gideon had just been shopping.

“Oh, wait. Lily came by the other night, she brought me stuff. I kicked her out before she could really do anything,” Gideon suddenly remembered, “I should apologize to her. I’ve been a bit off these past few days.”

“Clearly,” Rip spat.

“You’re angry,” Gideon looked at him properly, “This is new. You’ve never been angry with me.”

Rip sighed and ran a hand through his hair, “I’m not angry with you. I was worried. You weren’t responding to any of my messages. And Felicity said you were sick. And when I got here, you were delirious and barely aware of what was happening. You just kept trying to work! Why wouldn’t you call someone to look after you?”

Gideon blinked as she looked away murmuring, “I’ve never really had anyone to look after me before. Not really.”

“I’m sure Ray will love to hear that when he comes over tonight. He called by the way, worried over you. I told him you were fine for now and he promised to stop by after work. But maybe I should call back and cancel, seeing as you have no one,” Rip accused her harshly.

“Don’t do that. You know what I meant,” Gideon countered. Ray loved her, and he was the closest thing she would ever have to family. But at the end of the day, he went back to Lily. At the end of the day, everyone had someone else in their life. And Gideon was left all alone.

Rip sighed, realizing the severity of his words. He did understand, “I know what you meant. It’s one of the things I do miss about being married. Someone to take care of and takes care of me in return. Sick days are a lot harder when you’re alone, even when you have a hoard of friends to look after your son.”

“Well there you go,” Gideon muttered. They sat in silence for a few minutes, the only noise from the television playing in the background. Finally Gideon spoke up, “Did you come here from work? Don’t you have to leave now?”

“Nate can take care of things on his own. I’ve taken half days for Jonas before, it’s not a big deal.”

“But Jonas. What time is it?” Gideon glanced at her clock. She had been asleep the whole afternoon and Rip had taken the time off of work to watch her for nothing. “You should go home, Jonas needs you.”

“Jonas will be fine for a little bit longer,” Rip calmed her down.

“But he’s your son, he comes first,” Gideon reminded him.

“I know that. And so does he,” Rip assured her with a smile, “He also knows that I care about my friends a lot. And that’s what we are, Gideon. Friends.”

“Right. Of course,” Gideon stuttered.

“Kendra’s with him now anyways, he’s not going to miss me in the slightest. Not for a couple more hours anyways. So I can stay, if you want me to,” Rip said the last part somewhat unsurely. It occurred to him he may just be overstaying his visit and Gideon might want him to leave.

“What if I get you sick?” Gideon complained.

“I raised a ten year old. Trust me, my immune system can take a hit. Now, do you want me to stay?” Rip looked at her seriously trying to get her to focus on the issue at hand.

Gideon broke eye contact and looked down at her lap before slowly nodding as she whispered, “Yes.”

Rip smiled at her and stroked her hair as he spoke again, “Okay then, was that so hard? Is there anything you need? Anything you want me to do?”

Gideon bit her lip, pondering whether she should make the request. She turned to Rip and saw his inquiring look and finally blurted, “Could you – it’s just that Ray always – could I have a hug?”

Rip looked at her, biting back a smile, “Is that all? Of course you can. Come here.” Rip opened his arms and gathered Gideon up in his arms. She buried her face into his neck and breathed deeply as Rip rubbed circles into her back. Jonas always wanted Miranda whenever he was sick, but after the divorce Rip had to learn how to soothe his son on his own. He had learned through the years that the same tactics he used on his son worked on adults too. Especially when Kendra was dealing with another break up. Or Lisa had a fight with her brother. Somehow he always ended up in the position of looking after another person. But despite what his friends thought, it was something that he rather enjoyed.

Gideon’s breathing eased and she mumbled a thank you as she pulled back somewhat embarrassed and settled against the couch next to Rip. Close enough that she could rest her head against his shoulder if it started to feel heavy again, but far enough to give both of them their personal space.

“It’s not a problem. Now then, I think I have enough time to watch a movie if you’d like?” Rip offered as he picked up the remote, “So, let’s see why you insist on loving these romcoms so much.”

By the time Ray got off work and got to Gideon’s apartment and let himself in, it was to the sight of Rip and Gideon wrapped up under a blanket. An empty bowl was on the table and the credits of a movie played on the screen.

“Am I interrupting?” Ray asked as he entered the room not wanting to disturb their conversation. Gideon looked up and beamed at him. There was colour in her face now, which was better than what Lily had said two nights ago. Rip looked up and nodded in acknowledgement at him.

“Not at all. We were just finishing up the movie,” Rip told him. On the table a phone vibrated and Rip picked it up and texted something back. He looked back up at Ray, “You’re right on time actually. I’m being summoned home as it is.”

Rip got up from under the blanket as he continued to fill Ray in, “She’s had soup, but she still needs something solid for dinner or she’ll go hungry. She’s doing better now, but she still needs her cold medicine in another two hours.”

Ray nodded in understanding as Gideon complained, “You know I’m right here? I happen to be a grown woman who-”

“Who is clearly incapable of putting herself first for once,” Rip interrupted her all the while giving Ray a knowing look. Man, Ray really liked this guy already. Rip turned back to Gideon and bent down to her level. He held her face in his hands, a soft look on his face, “Stop complaining and let your friends look after you, it’s what we’re here for. And I meant it before, don’t worry about finding me a date this weekend. You still have another three months, it’s plenty of time. Just focus on getting better, okay? Get some rest, and call or text me if you need anything or just want to talk.”

Gideon didn’t speak simply nodded in agreement. Rip said his byes to Ray with a few more reminders and then made his way out the door. Ray smiled and turned to Gideon who already had her arms out for a hug.

“There’s my favourite girl,” Ray greeted as he placed the blanket on top of them both and pulled Gideon into his arms.

“Lily’s your favourite,” Gideon corrected.

“True,” Ray admitted, “But you are definitely right up there next to her. Besides, I think you might be Rip’s favourite girl anyways.”

Gideon snorted in laughter and then groaned, “I still need to find Rip a girl, in three more months. This is close to impossible!”

“Well if anyone can do it, it’s you,” Ray encouraged her, “Besides, maybe the right girl is closer than you think.”

Gideon looked at him with a frown but didn’t comment as she took the remote from him to choose another movie. Ray shook his head and sighed as he stared at her and remembered Rip’s gentleness with her. The problem with Gideon wasn’t that she was incapable of being loved, it was that she never saw the love that was right in front of her. And if she didn’t figure it out soon, she was going to be left heartbroken again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My original idea for this chapter was much more angstier on Gideon's part, so this was a compromise.
> 
> Also, we are now halfway through, if not more!
> 
> Please kudos/review if you enjoyed? Thoughts, questions, concerns? Let me know. Thanks!


	5. Month Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some rational part of her brain reminded her that Rip was now her friend as well and wouldn’t just throw her out once he did have a girlfriend. But Gideon was much more interested in entertaining sick, sinking feeling in her stomach when she had first watched them kiss. The feeling that made her eyes burn and like someone had dropped a lead brick down in the pit of her stomach which was somehow attached to her heart and pulling on that too. She wasn’t the least bit interested in being logical right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had some time and I was inspired, so another quick update. Hooray!

“Do you see her yet?”

“Jonas, I’m standing right next to you. If I saw her, then you would too,” Rip calmly told his son.

“Yeah, but you’re taller than me. You can see more,” Jonas told his dad matter-of-factly.

“Not for much longer if you keep growing,” Rip muttered. Selfishly, Rip hoped Jonas wouldn’t hit another growth spurt any time soon. He wanted his baby boy to be a kid still, if only for a little while longer.

“Dad! Look! There she is! Mom! Mom!” Jonas jumped up and down getting his mother’s attention. Soon the crowd parted so Rip could get a good look at his ex-wife making her way towards them. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in a bun and she was dressed in jeans and a blouse which meant she must have changed after landing because Rip knew she always tried to travel comfortably on flights.

“Jonas! There’s my beautiful boy, oh I’ve missed you so much!” Miranda let go of the luggage she had been dragging along to reach out and give her son a hug. Rip smiled and pulled the suitcase and other bags towards them so it wasn’t in anyone’s way and to give the pair their own moment. Miranda didn’t get enough time with Jonas, it was the least he could do.

“Mom, you have to let go,” Jonas whined after a minute or two in Miranda’s hold. She sighed and gave him an extra squeeze before finally pulling back, still holding Jonas at arm’s length, not ready to let go completely. Jonas smiled at her, “Here, these are for you! Welcome home, Mom!” Jonas handed his mother the balloons and bouquet he had barely been able to hold on to during the intense hugging session.

“Oh thank you so much!” Miranda beamed as she took the presents from her son, “They’re wonderful!”

“Dad bought them, but I picked them out!” Jonas informed his mother, he was rather proud of his choices.

Miranda laughed and finally turned to Rip, a soft smile still on her face. “Hello, Rip.”

“Hello, Miranda,” Rip greeted her. Miranda stood awkwardly not sure what to do with all her presents for a moment. Finally, she decided to move everything to one hand so she could lean forward and give Rip a hug. Rip happily obliged and leaned in and let her kiss him on the cheek and returned the gesture. He pointedly ignored the giddiness he felt. Even after being divorced for so long, sometimes his ex-wife still had that effect on him.

“Come on! Come on, Mom! We’ve got the whole entire time planned out! We’ve got people coming over, we have to go!” Jonas grabbed his mother’s hand excitedly as Rip let her go. Miranda raised an eyebrow at her son and turned to Rip with a questioning look. Rip smirked at her; she was more than capable of dealing with Jonas’ hyperactivity on her own now.

Rip let Jonas guide the majority of the conversation on the walk back to the car. He simply walked ahead of the pair and rolled Miranda’s suitcase alongside him and listened as Jonas regaled his mother about everything she had missed. Rip was very happy he had reminded his son to not mention anything about him dating. It wasn’t like he didn’t want Miranda to know per say, but he didn’t want her to know. At least not until he could tell her on his own.

“So, did you have a good flight?” Rip asked during the car ride when there was finally a break at which he could speak.

“Good enough. Long, you know I hate staying in one place for so long.”

“I know,” Rip chuckled remembering the flights they had taken for vacations back when they were together. Though, Gideon might just give Miranda a run for her money on restlessness. “Do you think you’re up to handling a welcome back party?”

“Don’t worry, I got plenty of sleep on the plane. I knew I’d be landing in the morning, and I didn’t want to waste a single moment with Jonas,” Miranda smiled back at her son who grinned at her.

“Good. For the record, I didn’t plan it. They invited themselves over,” Rip said.

“Of course they did. At least they missed me,” Miranda teased.

“If that is supposed to be some sort of jab at how I don’t miss you enough-”

“Are you two going to argue the entire time?” Jonas asked sadly.

“Of course not, sweetheart,” Miranda assured her son, “We just like giving each other a hard time. I know your father missed me plenty, he’s lost without me.” Rip had to laugh at that.

“You sure you don’t mind me staying over?” Miranda asked for the hundredth time.

“No. You ask this every time and the answer is the same every time. Stop asking,” Rip ordered her, “Besides, I’m keeping my bed. And I already have the spare bed set up in the study. Or you could just sleep on the couch if you like.”

“Oh how generous of you,” Miranda replied somewhat sarcastically, though still with humor in her voice. She used to sleep in Jonas’ room when he had been younger during her visits. But that had stopped around the time Jonas turned ten and decided he was too old for it. He also decided he was too old to call them Mummy and Daddy anymore (not that she was bitter) and they had a field day about their son growing up too fast.

“Well I certainly thought so,” Rip replied as he pulled into his driveway. He frowned as he saw cars already parked there and sighed, “I cannot believe them. Alright, we’re here. I suppose you want me to take your stuff into the house for you too?”

“You know me so well,” Miranda grinned at him.

Rip shook his head at her, “Alright, go on ahead. They’re all waiting for you anyways. I’ll be in soon.” Rip gave her the key for the house and let Jonas lead his mother to the front door. Meanwhile Rip concerned himself with getting her luggage out of the car. For someone only visiting for a few weeks, she certainly packed a lot!

Rip finally made his way into the house where Miranda was already being passed around for hugs among their friends. The Snarts, Kendra and Sara were all there. The original friend group in a way, from when they had been married.

“Don’t any of you have work?” Rip muttered as he shut the door behind him. Kendra smiled at him and walked over to help with the luggage. She was always the nice one.

“We knew about the party ahead of time, heard of days off?” Leonard rebutted.

“Heard of breaking and entering? Do I want to know how you got in?” Rip asked annoyed.

Len shrugged holding out a key in his hand, “If you didn’t want me to take copies you shouldn’t have let me borrow your set.”

“I didn’t,” Rip grinded his teeth.

“Oops,” Len shrugged. Rip sighed at his friend, he had given up on changing his behavior long ago. Rip looked around at his friends and decided Miranda was settling in nicely.

“Right, if everything’s going fine here. I’m heading back to work,” Rip announced.

“You’re not staying?” Miranda asked.

“No, I only took the morning off,” Rip smiled apologetically, “Besides, I’m sure between Jonas and them, you’ll have plenty of fun without me.”

“Right, well I’ll see you later then,” Miranda smiled at Rip.

“Of course, we can discuss the party when I get back,” Rip assured her. Then he kissed his son’s forehead and waved bye to the rest of the crowd. The less time he spent around his ex-wife was probably for the better.

* * *

 

“I’m still somewhat concerned about Mick running the barbecue,” Rip said as soon as Miranda sat down next to him. Miranda rolled her eyes as she watched Mick grilling while talking to a pretty brunette. Caitlin, if she remembered properly.

“He’s fine. He survived the party, let him grill some extras. He caused one accidental fire five years ago, you can’t hold it against him forever,” Miranda said.

“Yes I can,” Rip muttered stubbornly. All in all, Jonas’ birthday party had gone great. His actual birthday had been Thursday obviously, but Saturday seemed like a good day to have the party. Mostly because Jonas insisted on having all the adults there for the party as well for game night later on. The kids had mostly dispersed, as the party had technically been over for the last half hour. But some stragglers were still around as they waited for their parents.

“He and Caitlin seem to be getting along rather well,” Miranda commented. Her and Rip always joked that Rip got Len and Miranda took Mick in the divorce. Mick and Amaya were technically also part of the group when they had been married. But circumstances had changed, and Mick travelled a lot and Amaya moved away and only ever came by to visit Kendra. Though, they both managed to make it for Jonas’ birthday and to see Miranda, which Rip was grateful for.

“Yeah, they get on surprisingly well,” Rip agreed. And it was a surprise. Mick didn’t get along with most people, and Caitlin tended to be uptight in her own way. But together, they seemed to actually be making rather decent conversation.

“Caitlin is nice,” Miranda said leadingly. Rip refused to take the bait so she continued, “I’ve never met her before. Or Lisa’s boyfriend. Or Oliver’s girlfriend, she’s rather sweet with all the rambling. You’ve been busy making a lot of new friends.”

“It just sort of happened,” Rip shrugged not giving any details. He wasn’t sure when Lisa started officially dating Cisco, or Oliver and Felicity. But he was happy for them. And Jonas was happy with the extra presents, so it all worked out.

“Things certainly change. Jonas has gotten so tall. He doesn’t like kisses anymore, he’s too old now that he’s eleven,” Miranda rolled her eyes, “It’s almost as heartbreaking as when he started calling me Mom. With that American accent and everything! It’s like I blink and I miss it.”

“It’s not much different being here all the time. It’s still too fast,” Rip tried to console her. He knew a part of her always hated that she couldn’t be around Jonas. But her job required her to travel all the time, she didn’t want to raise a child like that. Jonas needed stability, so Rip got primary custody rights.

“Still not everything changes, I see Jax is still pining after Kendra,” Miranda giggled as she looked at him across the backyard. Jax was keeping up a conversation with both Kendra and Amaya (who was just shaking her head clearly realizing his true intentions). “And Jonas still has more adult friends than kids his own age.”

And there it was. Rip huffed as he got up from his seat, “I think I’m going to go inside now.”

Unfortunately, Miranda followed after him all the way to the kitchen, “Oh come on. Rip, you know I’m right.” Of course he knew she was right, didn’t mean he wanted to hear about it.

“It’s what Jonas wanted. A birthday party with his friends and then game night with everyone else. He’s our son, you know as well as I do how hard it is to say no to him. Besides, it’s not like you’re around. It’s hard trying to make friends our age and raise a child,” Rip huffed.

“Oh so, now it’s my fault for not being around enough? You know I would be here if you needed me! Not that you ever even tell me anything anymore. All the new friends, how you’re always going out, but no, I don’t hear it from you. I only hear whatever Jonas remembers to tell me about you,” Miranda argued with him.

“No, I don’t tell you things anymore. Because we’re not married. Telling you about my life is a privilege that was absolved when we signed those divorce papers!” Rip glared back at her.

“Ahem.” Rip turned around to see Laurel and Thea at the kitchen doorway, with Jonas and one of the kids’ mom behind them. Laurel continued, “Hate to interrupt, but you guys didn’t hear the doorbell. Samantha’s here to get William and Jack.”

“Of course, sorry about that,” Rip apologized. He took calming breaths as Miranda introduced herself as Jonas’ mom and Samantha apologized for being late to pick up the last two boys. They made small talk for a few more minutes until Thea and Laurel volunteered to walk her to the door when she was ready to leave. And then it was just Rip and Miranda alone again.

Neither said a word to the other. Rip started cleaning up in the kitchen, picking up trash that was littered around. Miranda joined him wordlessly taking over with the dishwasher and putting away the left over foods.

When everything was just about clean Rip finally sighed and faced her, “I’m sorry.”

“Me too,” Miranda returned.

Rip walked towards her, “I know I don’t tell you much about my life. But we’re divorced now.”

“We’re also friends. We always said we would be, even if it was just for Jonas. After what we put everybody through with our divorce, it was the least we could do,” Miranda told him.

Rip winced, “Yes, retrospectively I suppose it was rather terrible that news of our divorce came out on Thanksgiving.”

“It’s a stupid American holiday anyways,” Miranda waved off and Rip laughingly agreed, “Though, your mother refused to give me Christmas cookies that year.”

“You’ve gotten them every year since. Stop complaining,” Rip rolled his eyes before sighing, “In the interest of our friendship, the truth is I haven’t told you much because…I’ve started dating again, actually.”

“Really?” Miranda asked surprised.

“Yes. It’s why we have so many new people in the group, it comes with the whole dating experience. Going out, socializing, having fun, all that,” Rip waved his hand as a vague gesture of everything.

Miranda started laughing. Literally bent over in laughter, as she tried to take a breath and straighten up, she apologized, “Sorry, sorry – I just – Oh god, they put you up to this? Dating again? Oh, you trying to have fun, that’s hilarious!”

“I can be fun!” Rip glared.

“Oh Rip, you know I love you-”

“We’re not married anymore so you really shouldn’t,” Rip interjected.

Miranda placed her arms on his shoulders, “Shut up, you know what I meant. But Rip, let’s be honest, when I met you, you were just a stick in the mud. I was the most fun thing about you.” Rip crossed his arms and grumbled under his breath, this was why they were divorced! Miranda wrapped him in a hug as she cooed, “Oh don’t be such a big baby about it. I’m happy for you, maybe some of my free spiritedness rubbed off on you.”

Rip snorted as he returned the hug, “Free spiritedness? You were just crazy, with a penchant for life threatening recreational activities. And for some reason I found that insanely attractive.” They stood there laughing at each other and who they used to be when they were younger.

“You know, it’s really, really hard to keep track of when you’re going to be at each other’s throats or like two seconds away from making out,” Sara interrupted them again with Laurel by her side.

At the same time Leonard and Jax came inside with Jonas. Len heard Sara’s statement and felt the need to comment, “It wasn’t that different when they were married.” Rip glared at him and Miranda hit him on the shoulder for the comment.

“Doorbell rang again. Maybe you should consider answering the door to your own house,” Laurel announced pointedly.

“Well what’s the point of having all of you constantly in my home if you don’t help out sometimes,” Rip smiled back at her. The sisters moved to the side so Rip could finally see his guests. Nate, Ray, Lily and Gideon.

“Is the present for me?” Jonas asked running over as he saw Gideon holding a rather large gift bag.

“Jonas! Calm down, would you?” Rip scolded his son. Jonas looked at Gideon guiltily before apologizing and kindly asking to see the present.

“Of course. I wasn’t entirely sure what to get you, but I remembered you liked videogames. And I know it’s not the game you wanted, but maybe you’ll still like it anyways?” Gideon rambled nervously.

“It’s from all of us. Well mostly Gideon and me, but we’re letting Lily and Nate take partial credit too. Felicity’s mooching off of Oliver anyways,” Ray told him.

“Oh cool!” Jonas yelled as he finished unwrapping his present, “It’s the new game console. It’s top of the line graphics and sound, it’s not even out for another month!” Jonas looked at them wide eyed.

Rip crossed his arms and gave Gideon a stern look, “How the hell did you manage that?”

Gideon shrugged innocently, “Despite what you may think, people know me in the tech industry. And Ray too. We just pulled some strings.”

“Gideon, you should not be spending all that money,” Rip lectured her.

“Oh no this is small for them. One year I got a ride on the private jet, remember?” Nate interrupted. Rip stared at him, vaguely remembering the story Nate had once told him about how his college friends had flown him to Hawaii for his birthday, all expenses paid obviously.

“They don’t always understand how much is too much,” Lily added as she patted Ray’s back. Ray in turn frowned at her in confusion, had the parade in New York really been too much? He thought it had been romantic!

“Oh come on, he’s happy, right?” Gideon looked at Jonas worriedly, “Do you like it?”

Jonas grabbed Gideon, wrapping his arms around her middle as he exclaimed, “I love it! Thank you so much! You’re gonna play it with me too, right?”

Gideon nodded, still startled at the hug and repositioned herself to keep herself upright as she tentatively patted Jonas’ back, “Yes of course. If you’d like.” Jonas grinned at her and Jax offered to help Jonas set it up for when the Wests and Barry got there later. That caused Laurel to follow them and lecture them about how game nights were exclusively for family board games. Sara and Len shrugged and followed them out of the room along with Nate, none of them wanting to miss the ensuing argument.

Meanwhile, Rip chuckled at Gideon who still looked completely shell-shocked. Rip went up to her and placed an arm around her waist and pulled her into his side as he teased her, “Would you relax? You look like you just faced certain death.”

“She always looks like that around kids,” Ray explained.

“Shut up,” Gideon muttered at Ray before looking at Rip, “I was just surprised by the hug, that’s all.”

“Don’t know why,” Rip rolled his eyes as he rubbed circles into Gideon’s back to calm her down, “I’ve already told you before that Jonas likes you.”

“Ahem,” Miranda cleared her throat. Rip turned back to look at her. She had her arms crossed and was giving him an imploring look.

“What?” Rip asked. Miranda looked at him in disbelief.

“I believe she’s waiting for an introduction,” Gideon told him pointedly.

“Do I have to?” Rip whined at her.

Gideon rolled her eyes and turned to Miranda, hand outstretched, “I’m Gideon.”

“Miranda,” she introduced herself as she took Gideon’s hand.

“You’re Jonas’ mother,” Gideon replied in surprise.

“He’s told you about me,” Miranda looked at Rip in astonishment, “Well he’s told me nothing about you.”

“Didn’t we just finish having a conversation about how you don’t need to know all the details about my personal life?” Rip wondered. Then he briefly explained, “Gideon’s my friend. Miranda’s my ex-wife. There, introductions done. Now let’s go play some games, shall we?”

Ray and Lily shrugged and turned and began walking towards the living room. Rip made a gesture for Gideon to go ahead but when she made no move he simply turned her himself and walked her out, hands on her arms to keep her ahead of him.

“And you two are not playing on the same team,” Rip called back to Miranda following after them. He leaned into Gideon as he finished quietly, “The last thing I need is for the two of you to get along and gang up on me.”

All things considered, game night went rather well. Rip’s house was even more crowded than usual, there was plenty more yelling and shouting. But Jonas enjoyed getting to play on a team with his mom. Sara and Len found out about Jonas’ present and they all started wondering how much money they could pump Ray and Gideon for. (Wally managed to get Gideon to fork over fifty dollars until Iris stopped her.) All together, it was a rather eventful night.

By the time everyone left and Jonas was in bed, Miranda joined him in cleaning up around the living room with him. He knew she had something to say and he also knew it would serve him better to just wait patiently than just ask outright about what was bothering her.

“So you and Gideon are close then?” Miranda finally asked

“Yes, I suppose so,” Rip replied.

Miranda stopped putting things away and turned to face him, “You know, it’s okay to tell me if you’re more than friends with her?”

“What?” Rip stared at her blankly.

“Rip, I’m not an idiot,” Miranda walked closer to him, “You said you were dating again. And Gideon comes in, and Jonas gets along with her fantastically and-”

“She’s my matchmaker,” Rip blurted out.

“What?” Miranda finally stopped talking.

Rip groaned, “I didn’t want you to know about that part. But I guess it’s better if you do know. Gideon is my matchmaker. That’s how I know her. The gang wanted me to start dating again, so they signed me up for matchmaking.”

“So Gideon is supposed to set you up on dates and hope you find your happily ever after with one of them?” Miranda asked.

“In theory, yes,” Rip muttered. Miranda stared at him blankly for a few minutes clearly processing all of this new information.

Then she walked up to him and patted his cheeks, “Oh Rip. Right, I think you’ve got the rest of this under control. I’m going to bed.”

“What? No, no! You were going to say something. Come back here right now and tell me what it was!”

Miranda stopped at the doorway and turned back to him and laughed, “We’re not married anymore. I don’t have to tell you anything. Besides, I think it’s best if you figure this one out for yourself.”

Rip stood there completely stumped for a good five minutes before he finally gave up and decided to go to bed. Miranda’s smirk still haunted his dreams that night.

* * *

 

Rip continued to stare at Oliver and Felicity as they played a game of catch with Miranda and Jonas. Jax was taking a break and sitting next to Kendra. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, he was pretty sure the birds were even singing. And here he was, sitting on a park bench wondering exactly how he had gotten himself into this conversation.

“What?” he asked dumbly.

“Rip!” Gideon rolled her eyes as she sat next to him, “You heard me perfectly fine.”

“I really don’t think I did,” Rip stared at her.

“Do you want to get back together with Miranda?” Gideon repeated slowly and quite seriously. Rip continued to stare at her face and Gideon huffed. The man was completely impossible sometimes. “It’s fine if you do. I would just like to know if I should even bother spending time trying to matchmake you with different people or if I should focus on getting you back together with your ex-wife.

“Why on earth would I want that?” Rip looked at her completely shocked.

Gideon shrugged, not wanting to explain everything she had observed. Like all the inside jokes the two still had during game night. The easy going banter that flowed between the two of them. The way Miranda had stared at the arm Rip briefly had around Gideon’s shoulder (because she had immediately moved away under Miranda’s scrutiny – much to Rip’s dismay). And she most definitely did not want to explain how she had felt when she saw them hugging in the kitchen, the easy comfort and laughter between the two. The thought brought a strange pang in Gideon’s chest for some reason. She decided to ignore that.

“You two are certainly close. I can see why everyone jokes about you two possibly getting back together,” Gideon commented lightly as she remembered Leonard egging the two on.

“They really need to stop,” Rip huffed, “Because it’s not happening. And I would hate to get Jonas’ hopes high for something that will never happen.”

“But if you do still love her-”

“Gideon, no,” Rip said resolutely as he turned to face her full on. “She was my wife, and maybe a small part of me will always love her,” Rip admitted thinking back to the happiness he had felt when they picked up Miranda at the airport, “But it’s not enough for anything to ever happen between us again. If you’re going to psychoanalyze me about this, then why don’t you give me an answer that actually makes sense and I’d agree with?”

“Rip,” Gideon sighed. Rip looked at her doggedly, daring her to do it. Gideon straightened up, rising to the challenge, “Alright then. You said you were together for almost ten years? So you’re comfortable with each other, enough to the point that you know exactly what would actually hurt the other and what’s just teasing fun. You’re comfortable enough because you know each other’s likes and dislikes about probably everything. And you being you, you’re tactile, so you’re always hugging and kissing her because you don’t even notice anything out of place about it.”

“What makes you think I’m tactile?” Rip frowned. Most of his friends always found him too prickly at times and thought he didn’t like hugs. Unless they were in crisis mode and needed someone to comfort them. In fact, Sara had once told him that he came across as cold and aloof at times. Kendra had compared him to a porcupine, apparently he was prickly on the outside but a complete softie on the inside.

Gideon stared at him pointedly and then looked down at her hair which she had worn down for the day. Her hair draped her shoulders and the back of the bench. And Rip was currently running his fingers through it.

Immediately he stilled, “Sorry. I guess I don’t realize it. It just, sort of happens. Another side effect of raising a child I suppose. I don’t mean to.”

“It’s fine,” Gideon rolled her eyes. Slowly, as he realized she was being honest, Rip resumed stroking her hair again, it seemed to be a simple unconscious habit. Like how Gideon was always playing on her phone. The truth was, other than Ray Gideon didn’t do well with affection most of the time. She had never received it as a child. Ray had been the one to teach her what a hug actually meant, but she still usually didn’t like other people hugging or constantly touching her. Rip was the exception. She didn’t even notice when he did it, it all just felt so natural.

“Anyways, before I was so rudely interrupted. You both put Jonas first, he is your everything. So the only reason you would ever get back together would be because he desperately wanted it,” Gideon frowned then, “The only reason you stayed married as long as you did was for Jonas. And you got married because of him too, didn’t you?” Gideon finished slowly with wide eyes.

Rip sighed, “I think that’s enough psychoanalysis, don’t you?”

“Rip?”

Rip shrugged, “I was planning on proposing to her anyways. We’d been together long enough. But yes, she got pregnant and we just sort of got married before the baby could be born. Her parents wanted a grandchild the right way. It would have happened anyways eventually, the time table just got moved up is all.”

“Huh,” Gideon said in response.

When she didn’t continue, Rip asked, “What? No more questions to grill me on? You’ve done nothing but, since you brought me out here for my lunch break.”

“Oh shut up. You wanted to see Jonas anyways, and I bought you sandwiches. Besides, I needed information. You have less than three months left. And we’ve lost time because of me getting sick and Jonas’ party. I needed to get back to basics,” Gideon explained.

Rip hummed in response as he thought of the choices she had given him and the pointed questions she had asked, reminiscent of the first time he had met her. How did he like his tea? Would he rather have many short breaks or one long vacation? Why did he love history so much? Was he still in love with Miranda? The questions were endless with Gideon.

“Yes, all and well for you. Always asking me personal questions and I get nothing in return,” Rip complained.

“I tell you plenty about my life,” Gideon dismissed, “Besides, I need it for work. I need to set you up with someone perfect for you. I have someone in mind now actually. I’ll run the code when I get back to work and check the match probability. She could be good for you. Meeting Miranda certainly offered some insights to what you like.”

“Liked,” Rip corrected, “Please don’t use Miranda as a template for my ‘perfect woman’. That marriage didn’t work out.”

“No, but it does help.”

“I was different then. Younger, more willing to be reckless, clean shaven,” Rip winked at her.

Gideon laughed as her hand ghosted against his beard. Softly she commented, “I like your beard. It’s rather sexy.”

“You think?” Rip teased.

“It works for you,” Gideon said, pointedly looking away and ignoring her cheeks heating up. Distantly she wondered what it would feel like in a kiss, but she dropped the thought before she could expand on it.

“Point still stands,” Rip changed the subject, “You always get to ask all these personal questions about me, and I barely know anything about you.”

“What do you mean?” Gideon asked puzzled. Honestly, sometimes she thought she told Rip too much. He knew about her childhood, he had seen her sick and pathetic, he knew about her own withering love life. Still she offered, “Alright then, you can ask me questions too if you like. But you already know all the important things anyways.”

“I don’t even know your last name,” Rip said deliberately.

“How many Gideons do you know? I said all the important things,” Gideon waved it off.

“Gideon! I’ve known you for three months, and I have no clue how to address you formally.”

“You don’t have to anyways,” Gideon looked away and sighed, “It doesn’t matter.”

“Well then tell me,” Rip teased.

“Oh no, not anymore. This is far too much fun to keep you in the dark,” Gideon’s voice was light. But when she turned to look at him again, her face was serious, “I’m Gideon. That’s it. The state assigned me a last name to which I feel no attachment to. Last names are a family name, because you’re supposed to belong to a family. I don’t have that. So it’s not important. I’m just Gideon.”

“Okay then,” Rip nodded along seriously, “Gideon.”

* * *

 

“So this is what constitutes as a normal Saturday night around here now?” Miranda asked dubiously.

“Normally it’s just me and whoever else shows up. Ray and Gideon aren’t usually here. But yeah,” Kendra shrugged. Miranda nodded slowly, taking it all in. Jonas was currently playing on his new game console along with Ray and Jax. Gideon was sitting on the arm of the sofa furthest away from Miranda and staring at the boys.

“So do you normally go on all of Rip’s dates?” Miranda asked Gideon.

“He doesn’t have faith that I’m good at my job and can set him up on a good date,” Gideon responded not taking her eyes off the game, “So, yes. Just in case.”

“You’re not usually over here before the date though,” Kendra looked at Gideon somewhat confused.

Gideon crossed her arms and glowered at Ray, “Someone decided to show up at my apartment as I was getting ready and then insisted on driving me here.”

“You said Rip was picking you up anyways,” Ray argued distractedly, “I saved him some time. That’s all. And also got to play some games, everyone wins.”

“And it was very much appreciated,” Rip said as he entered the room, “Otherwise I would have had to be ready a half hour ago to pick you up too.”

“Is that what you’re wearing on your date?” Miranda asked.

“It’s a suit,” Rip said curtly.

“One of your work suits,” Miranda replied.

“You are my ex-wife. Stop commenting on what I should wear on my date! Words I never thought I’d have to say,” Rip groaned as he closed his eyes.

“I bought you suits.” Rip opened his eyes again and found Gideon frowning at his outfit. “I bought you two very nice suits and this is what you’re wearing on your date?”

“You bought him suits?” Miranda asked.

“He never wears them!” Gideon whirled around and complained to her, “At this point I feel the need to ask what he wore when you got married!”

Miranda paused for a second, “To be fair, we didn’t have an actual wedding.”

“I wore a suit then, just not a tux,” Rip interjected, “Miranda wanted to get married before Jonas was born so we didn’t waste time with all the wedding planning hassle. We just went to the courthouse and got it over with. Always meant to have a real wedding, just never had the time with a toddler.”

 “Shotgun wedding. At this point, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea!” Ray joined the conversation.

Gideon glared at him, “Ray I swear if you end up eloping after all the work I have put in, I will kill you!”

“I don’t know, it’s sounding pretty good right now,” Ray incited.

Gideon clearly didn’t see the humor as she reached over and pressed some buttons on Jonas’ controller. Immediately both Jax and Ray threw up their hands in frustration as both their characters died and Jonas won instead.

“Wow! You’ve got to teach me that!” Jonas exclaimed.

Gideon smiled at him, “Sure. I’ll show you all the cheat codes at some point.” While Ray grumbled about how she was a tech genius and it just wasn’t fair, Gideon turned back to Rip, “You didn’t even wear a proper tux at your wedding?”

“Courthouse! And it’s not like Miranda went out and bought a wedding dress, she just showed up in a white sundress! Why am I the only one getting in trouble here? Besides, we were more worried about being parents at that point,” Rip argued.

“Not that we were much better at that. We were in completely over our heads,” Miranda expanded.

“Should you be talking about this in front of the kid?” Jax asked them.

“It’s fine,” Jonas shrugged, “They do this all the time. Mom had a swear jar.”

“I would like to point out that you said ‘bollocks’ as your first word thanks to your father, not me!” Miranda told her son.

“You’re never going to let that go,” Rip rolled his eyes at Miranda. He looked back at Gideon who was still pouting, so he tugged at her crossed arms until she loosened up. He placed his hands on her hips and looked at her, “If it bothers you that much I can change into one of the suits you bought. I just didn’t see the point of breaking them out for a first date, though I would like to point out I’ve worn one of them at least once before.”

Gideon hummed as she straightened the lapels on his jacket, “Actually, I predict a ninety-two percent chance of it working out with this woman. So the probability of a second date is rather high.” Behind them, Kendra and Ray watched the interaction and traded conspiring looks. Miranda gave Kendra a look of disbelief to which Kendra simply nodded with a slight chuckle.

“Well I think you look great in the suit, man,” Jax spoke up. Then he looked at Gideon, “But for twenty dollars, I’ll tell him he should change into one of yours.”

“Iris says I’m not supposed to give you anymore pocket change,” Gideon said somewhat unsurely.

“You shouldn’t,” Rip agreed as he gave Jax a strict look. Then he looked at his watch and tugged Gideon up, “Come on now, if we don’t leave now, we’re going to be late. Jonas.”

Rip held out his arms for a hug from his son, which Jonas easily responded to before going to sit next to his mother. Rip bid his goodbyes to everyone and then grabbed Gideon’s hand so they could both leave.

As soon as the front door closed and locked, Miranda let out a long breath as she exclaimed, “Unbelievable!”

* * *

 

“Looks like we’re a little early,” Gideon commented as they pulled into the parking lot. She turned to Rip, “Okay, so she-”

“Gideon, enough,” Rip put a hand on hers to stop her, “You’ve told me everything I need to know already. Nonstop.”

“I have a good feeling about this one. I think you’ll really like her,” Gideon defended herself quietly.

“Well you do know me pretty well, so I’m sure you’re right,” Rip chuckled. He sighed, a part of him just wanted to stay in the car with Gideon. It was so much easier to talk with her than go out and make constant small talk on these dates. But he’d see her after the date anyways, so it was fine.

“You’ll grab something to eat for yourself, right?” he asked Gideon worriedly.

“Of course, I’m not going to starve myself,”

“Well save some room, and we can get ice cream or hot chocolate or something after,”

Gideon looked at him curiously, “Won’t you need to get back to Jonas?”

“Miranda’s here, remember? I’m sure she won’t mind spending an extra hour with him by herself. It’s the only time she ever gets.”

“Right. Well, come on then,” Gideon insisted. They both got out of the car and Gideon looked him over, fixed his collar (it was fine!) and declared him ready. Rip laughed at her and made sure she was alright on her own before heading into the restaurant.

The restaurant was dimly lit, creating an intimate atmosphere and giving it the upscale high-end feeling, they were clearly aiming for. Rip was led to his table and sat down as he was the first one to arrive. Ten minutes later, right on time, his date arrived.

“Hi, Rip Hunter?” the brunette asked. Rip stood up and shook her hand as she introduced herself, “Hi, I’m Lucy Lane. I hope I’m not too late.”

“No, not at all,” Rip assured her as they both sat down again, “I was just early.”

“Oh good, I hate being late to things,” Lucy said before backtracking, “Not that I’m completely anal about it or anything. Unless it’s work.”

“No, I understand. I’m the same way,” Rip agreed thinking about how he was constantly trying to keep Jonas on some sort of a schedule, “You’re a lawyer, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Lucy smiled, “My dad was in the military so he raised us with a lot of rules. Becoming a lawyer seemed right on track for me.”

And just like that, conversation flowed easily throughout dinner. Rip had been somewhat taken aback by just how well the two of them got along. When Gideon had first mentioned Lucy was a lawyer, Rip had expected someone more like Laurel. And while she was stubborn in some aspects, she also had a nice laugh. When the topic turned towards Jonas, it was Lucy who brought it up, saying she had read it in his profile. So clearly, having a son wasn’t a deal breaker, which was good to know. She asked him all the right questions about Jonas and told him her own stories growing up as the younger sister to the seemingly perfect daughter. Rip told her about how he had been an only child and how it had felt somewhat lonely, yet now couldn’t seem to get all of his friends to leave him alone for a moment’s peace and quiet.

By the time they were finishing dessert, Rip had to admit, Gideon had done a good job with this woman. It wasn’t just that she was nice, though she was. But she was the first woman to challenge him and make his mind work to keep up. It made the conversation interesting. It was one of the things that first attracted him to Miranda, and probably why he found Gideon so entertaining. When it came to the bill, Lucy insisted on splitting the check.

“No, don’t be ridiculous, I can pay,” Rip told her.

“Oh please, you hardly seem the egotistical sexist type. Besides, I have a first date policy. There’s no point in making the man waste money on me if there isn’t going to be a second date,” Lucy flirted.

“Is that so? Well I guess I’m paying after all, and you can get it the next time if you like,” Rip responded in kind.

“I’ll hold you to it,” Lucy answered.

Once Rip had paid the check the two of them headed outside. Rip’s car was parked out front but Lucy’s was a ways down.

“You want to take a walk by any chance?” Lucy asked.

Rip thought about saying yes, but Gideon was still around somewhere and he was her ride home. Besides, he had promised her ice cream or some sweet treat for accompanying him on the date.

“I would, but unfortunately I have to get back,” Rip said with some disappointment.

“I understand. Raising a kid on your own is probably a bit of a handful. But you know, I also don’t see the point of doing this again if I don’t think there’s a spark,” Lucy walked closer to him and placed her hands on his arms.

“And what would you suggest to find out if there is one?” Rip tilted his head as he watched her. Lucy got closer to him and went up on her tiptoes, eyes on his lips. She stopped close as she could and waited for Rip to close the distance. And he did. Normally he didn’t kiss on the first date, but for some reason he ducked his head down and met her lips with his. It was soft and sweet, and the first proper kiss Rip had gotten in a very long time.

“What’s the verdict then?” Rip asked as they broke apart and Lucy stood flat on the ground again.

“I think I’ll give you a call for our next date,” Lucy took charge.

Rip raised an eyebrow, “Well then, I look forward to it. Good night, Lucy.”

“Good night, Rip,” Lucy squeezed his bicep as she walked past him to get to his car. He turned and watched her for a while before facing forward again. Gideon was already walking down the street towards him slowly.

“Good date then?” Her voice was soft but tight.

“I’m guessing you saw that entire exchange?” Rip looked at her.

“Your kiss? Yes. I was on my way out and may have watched from afar. I’m glad it went well,” she said.

“You don’t sound too happy,” Rip frowned at her slightly. She sounded closed off and monotonous.

“Don’t be silly, of course I am. Just a bit tired from working, that’s all,” Gideon dismissed and showed her laptop as proof.

“Not too tired to get ice cream though, right?” Rip smiled at her and tugged her towards him.

“We should probably just head back. Jonas probably misses you anyways, and Ray is waiting to take me home.”

“Jonas is more than happy to be with his mum. And Ray is a grown man who can drive himself home, it’s his car. I’ll just drop you off afterwards. Come on Gideon, I’ve been looking forward to this,” Rip smiled at her softly.

Gideon placed a hand softly on his cheek, her thumb brushing back and forth. Rip placed his own hand over hers. Gideon looked at him and sighed, “Alright then. I can never say no to ice cream.”

“Good,” Rip smiled at her, happy to see the sadness had left her eyes. He took her hand off his cheek and gave it a squeeze, “Let’s go then.”

* * *

 

“Right, so only a month left. What’s left to do?” Lily asked.

Gideon groaned and avoided banging her head on her desk. She assumed hitting her head against the desk wouldn’t be very professional, even if it was her best friends’ wedding.

“You still need to have the playlists ready for the DJ, and dance lessons, you start Monday night,” Felicity informed them from where she was standing behind Gideon.

“Alright, we can do that,” Ray agreed, “Have I said thank you? Because we really are grateful, really. We wouldn’t have been able to do this without you guys. And on top of all the matchmaking work you guys do too.”

“Right,” Gideon muttered as she looked back at her computer screen. It wasn’t like it was much more work. She was on top of her paperwork, the wedding planning was almost over, and Rip’s date had clearly gone well.

She couldn’t stop replaying the scene in her mind. Rip had kissed Lucy. But that was good, that meant the date had gone well. Rip didn’t kiss on the first date, he had said so. So for him to kiss Lucy, he must have really liked her. She could just be the one. And then he could finally get rid of Gideon like he wanted. Some rational part of her brain reminded her that Rip was now her friend as well and wouldn’t just throw her out once he did have a girlfriend. But Gideon was much more interested in entertaining sick, sinking feeling in her stomach when she had first watched them kiss. The feeling that made her eyes burn and like someone had dropped a lead brick down in the pit of her stomach which was somehow attached to her heart and pulling on that too. She wasn’t the least bit interested in being logical right now.

“Hey, everything okay?” Ray asked as he took in Gideon’s glazed look.

“Of course, everything’s fine. Why wouldn’t it be?” Gideon snapped.

“Okay,” Felicity said slowly, “Are you stressed? Did Rip’s last date not go well?”

“I’m sure it went spectacularly. He kissed her after all. So clearly it was just peachy. I’m fairly certain they’re seeing each other this weekend as well,” Gideon responded somewhat bitterly. She couldn’t keep her voice completely emotionless like she usually did when she felt too much.

“Right,” Ray took in her acerbic tone. Lily nodded at him and Felicity took a step back from Gideon. Ray got up and walked around to the other side of the desk and gave Gideon a hug.

“What are you doing?” Gideon asked confused.

“You looked like you could use a hug,” Ray explained as he smothered her.

“I’m fine,” Gideon said as she pulled back. She looked around the room where everyone had varying levels of uncertain looks, so she repeated herself, “I’m fine. Perfectly fine. Just a little stressed, I’m sure.” That was why she felt so strange about Rip’s last date; it was just stress and the uncertainty of what that meant for their friendship. That was all.

“Alright. If you say so,” Lily accepted before changing the topic, “Now dates. Have you found anyone yet?”

“Dates?” Gideon asked blankly.

Lily glared at her, “Yes, Gideon. Dates. You are part of the wedding party, you are both required to have dates. We told you this months ago.”

Gideon turned to Ray who put his hands up, “Hey, we told you. And I’ve tried to get you to focus on your own love life, but you refused.”

“Well surely we don’t all have dates already, right?” Gideon looked at Felicity.

“Oh no, I have mine. I mean I haven’t actually asked Oliver yet, but it was heavily implied. Though I should probably ask him properly. He met Dig and Lyla last weekend, and I’m fairly certain Dig threatened certain death like he usually does. So I should check,” Felicity babbled.

“Dig’s still better than your mom though, right?” Ray pointed out with a grin.

“Oh no, he is never meeting her. Ever!”

“So Felicity has Oliver. And Cisco has Lisa,” Lily started the list, “Caitlin is probably going to ask Mick if she can.”

“Jax also said he’s finally going to ask Kendra out,” Ray said. He had bonded quite a bit with the younger man over the last few months. At first Jax was only a part of the wedding party to please Martin, but Ray had grown close to him.

“What about Nate? I could just pair up with him,” Gideon said.

“Oh no. He met some girl at Jonas’ birthday party. Amaya? I think those two are going to do some sort of long distance thing, so he’s taken,” Felicity informed them.

“So it’s just me left?” Gideon asked miserably. Half her friends were dating Rip’s friends and here she was completely left alone again. Sometimes constantly playing cupid really sucked. Ray could hear the defeat in Gideon’s voice and pulled her in for another hug.

“We need to get you a date!” Lily said.

“Don’t worry, we’ll take care of it,” Ray soothed her.

“Yeah, Iris and I can help. Matchmakers after all,” Felicity assured her. Gideon sighed as she leaned against Ray. She thought back to what Rip had said about his heart racing and looking forward to seeing the other person again. She wondered if he felt that way about Lucy. She wondered if he had once felt that way for Miranda and if those feelings had completely disappeared. She wondered if she had ever felt that way about anybody.

* * *

 

“Hey you made it!” Barry greeted as Gideon entered with Ray and Lily.

“Of course, it’s our money. We should be here,” Gideon confirmed. Barry went in to hug her and then Ray and Lily.

“Well I for one am glad you guys could come. And it’s great you were able to help out,” Barry repeated. Iris came up next to him then and leaned against him; her father tagged along behind her.

“Detective West, it’s good to see you again,” Gideon greeted.

“Gideon, how many times I gotta tell you to call me Joe?” Joe gave her a hug as well before shaking hands with Ray, “Hi how are you doing? Thank you again for the donations, the police force definitely appreciates it.”

“Of course, anything to keep our streets safe,” Ray agreed.

“It’s quite the benefit they’ve put on,” Lily commented as she looked around. And it certainly was, with all the decorating and people all decked out you could hardly tell it was taking place in the museum. But the mayor had insisted on having the benefit in a place that represented the community, which for some reason meant the museum. And who was Lily to question the mayor?

“Where’s Wally at?” Lily asked.

“Probably snuck out with Jessie somewhere,” Iris commented. Oh young love.

“Iris! Gideon!”

Both women turned around at the familiar voices calling their names. Sure enough there were the Lance sisters walking side by side towards them. Sara had an arm linked with Leonard, and Laurel linked arms with – whom Gideon could only assume – their father.

“I didn’t think you’d be here,” Laurel commented as they stopped in front of them. Quentin, Joe and Barry took the time to exchange pleasantries among themselves, what with all of them being on the force.

“Benefactors. It’s a requirement,” Gideon said briefly. She would much rather be home anyways.

“Well since you’re here, I can finally introduce you properly. Daddy, this is Gideon, Ray Palmer and Lily Stein,” Laurel tapped her father’s shoulder to get his attention.

“And this is our dad, Quentin Lance,” Sara finished proudly.

Quentin shook hands with all three of them. He paused and frowned at Gideon, “Have we met before?”

“No,” Gideon said quickly.

“Don’t bother Gideon,” Joe chuckled from behind Quentin, “He’s almost as good as you with his memory; like an elephant. Do you remember almost fifteen years ago now, the whole task force got shut down? Some virus that infected all our computer systems and shut us down for nearly two days? We had to run on those ancient back up computers.”

“Yeah of course I remember, two days of hell. How could I forget?” Quentin responded.

Joe pointed at Gideon, “This is why. She was around right after helping fix things though, so she’s got a good heart.”

“Technically speaking, you still have no definitive proof that I did anything and I wasn’t just a good Samaritan,” Gideon said nervously. Meanwhile everyone else stared at her, including Ray.

“What did you do? And why do I not know about this?” Ray asked.

“And how’d you get away with it?” Quentin asked crossing his arms.

“If I had done something, and I’m not saying I did, but if I had, it might have been when I was seventeen. Still a minor, and there was never any solid evidence,” Gideon fidgeted.

“Gideon?” Ray repeated imploringly.

“I was young. I made stupid choices, everyone does. Besides, Felicity dared me and I just wanted to see if I could do it. I didn’t know it would take that long to fix!” Gideon contended, “Not that I’m saying I did anything.”

“Sure you’re not,” Quentin laughed before he and Joe walked off to let the ‘kids’ talk.

“You just got so much cooler,” Sara said as she eyed Gideon appreciatively. Beside her Leonard nodded in agreement. Gideon blushed, before muttering an excuse of needing a drink while Laurel began lecturing the two on what ‘cool’ meant.

Gideon made her way to one of the tables at the back and took a flute of champagne from the platter, happy to be alone if only for a moment. Of course it could never last long.

“You look really nice.”

Gideon side-eyed the man leaning against the table right next to her before looking straight ahead into the crowd again, “Thank you. What are you doing here?”

“It’s my museum, of course I’m here,” Rip said.

“I believe technically speaking, the museum is a public commodity,” Gideon corrected him.

“Semantics. Besides, I’m the director I have to be here anyways. I dragged Nate here too, he’s around somewhere I’m sure,” Rip frowned at the crowd, trying to decipher where the other man had gone.

“What about Jonas?” Gideon asked.

“Kendra’s babysitting,” Rip told her, “And you? How did you score an invite?”

“Benefactor. I donated some money,” Gideon said.

“Of course you did, because you’re perfect,” Rip muttered under his breath as he shook his head.

Gideon heard him anyways and replied, “Hardly. I just try and be helpful. How have you been?”

“Good. Miranda left a little while ago so Jonas has been a little upset. But you’d know that already if you hadn’t disappeared off the face of the earth the last couple of weeks,” Rip snarked at her.

“I’ve had other work to deal with, I’m sorry. I get like that sometimes, usually Ray notices and brings me back to reality. Sorry.” Gideon hadn’t been avoiding him, she hadn’t. She did have work to do. Very important work, she couldn’t always be coddling Rip.

“Well Jonas missed you. I did too,” Rip added the last part a little quieter.

“Right,” Gideon murmured. Then she spoke up, “And how are things going with Lucy?”

“Fine. We had another date last week, and she’s around here somewhere tonight.”

“You brought her as a date?” Gideon blinked. Rip had never done that before, not even with Patty. “I didn’t realize it was that serious already.”

“It’s not,” Rip unknowingly calmed her anxiety, “Her firm donated money so she’s here representing them. We just happen to be here at the same night, that’s all.”

“So does this count as another date?” Gideon asked unsurely.

“Possibly? I saw her briefly before. And I’ll probably run into her again later, I’ve just been busy.”

“You could always go and find her now, I suppose,” Gideon offered him an escape.

“Why would I do that when I’m talking to you right now?” Gideon could hear the incredulousness in his voice and she simply shrugged. Suddenly his hand covered hers as he tugged her in front of him. He pushed her chin up to look at him directly, “Are we okay?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t we be?”

“Why don’t you tell me?” Rip murmured, “You’re the one that’s been gone. That’s barely talking to me. And you can barely even look at me right now.” Gideon looked up again realizing her gaze had moved down again, towards his throat so she wouldn’t have to look him in the eyes.

“I was just observing the fact that once again you’ve refused to wear one of the suits I’ve bought you. Honestly, I think I’m hurt,” Gideon responded casually, her fingers toying with the buttons of the jacket. Her phone was in her clutch and according to Ray; it was rude to take it out when she was talking to someone. Even if it was Rip.

Rip chuckled against her, “Yes I suppose I have. Sorry, I looked at this as a work event and chose a work suit.” Rip sobered for a bit after that before rephrasing, “So are we good?”

“Yes. Of course.”

“Gideon,” Rip tucked a finger under her chin and forced her to look him in the eyes, “Look at me when you say it.”

“Yes,” Gideon said resolutely, “You’ve done nothing wrong, I swear. It’s just me being stuck in my own head again, that’s all.”

“Anything you want to tell me about?” Rip asked concerned.

“No, it’s nothing that warrants any concern. Just me worrying needlessly,” Gideon patted his chest.

Rip caught her hand and held it flat against his heart, “Of course you are. But you also keep a lot of things to yourself. You know you can talk to me, right?”

“Of course I know that. Look don’t worry about me, you worry enough about everyone else already.”

“Like you don’t do exactly the same,” Rip countered. Gideon was just as bad as him when it came to putting others first.

“Still, you don’t need to worry about me. I’m fine. I promise,” Gideon gave him her best smile.

“Alright,” Rip conceded. He stepped away from the table and Gideon moved back as well but Rip still held on to her hand. “Against my better judgement I’m trusting you to let me know if something is wrong.”

“You mean you’re going to treat me like the adult that I am? How kind of you!” Gideon responded sarcastically, a proper smile on her face this time.

“I certainly thought so,” Rip teased back, laughter in his voice.

“Rip! Hey I was looking for you,” Lucy wandered over from the crowd. She smiled at him and linked arms with him as she leaned against him. She looked down at his hand which was intertwined with Gideon’s for a second before Gideon pulled free. She awkwardly stood there for a moment looking at the pair: her one client and his perfect (?) match. She was happy for them, she would force herself to be happy for them. Anything to take away the strange stomach twisting feeling she got whenever she looked at them.

“And here I was worried you were never going to introduce me to any of your friends,” Lucy teased him.

“Oh no, you’re never meeting them. Not any time soon, all of that is a whole other bag of crazy that you don’t want to deal with, right Gideon?” Rip gestured away from them as he grinned at Gideon.

“Right, sure,” Gideon agreed barely paying attention. Her mind was focused on the way Lucy was currently gripping Rip’s arm.

“So who is this?” Lucy asked kindly.

“Ah well this is a friend. Gideon, my favourite. And therefore, probably the only one you will ever meet,” Rip said. Gideon felt giddy at the idea of being Rip’s favourite anything. But she told herself to get a grip, it wasn’t like he meant anything by it. Not really.

“Hello, I’m Gideon,” she reached out to shake Lucy’s hand politely, “I’m actually Rip’s matchmaker as well. So I actually set you two up.” The least she could do was try and take some credit for Rip’s happiness.

“Oh wow! Well thank you so much!” Lucy thanked her excitedly.

“Of course, it’s my job.” Playing cupid for everyone else and not getting anyone for herself, that was her life story. Gideon excused herself then and grabbed another flute of champagne for herself before walking away; she didn’t look back to see the hurt on Rip’s face as she left.

Gideon got to the other side of the room and took a deep breath trying to center her thoughts and think clearly for once. She had only a few moments to herself before she was interrupted again.

“Well, I was hoping to ask you if you wanted a drink, but I can see now that you already have one.” Gideon whirled around to find a blonde man smiling kindly at her, awkwardly holding two glasses of champagne.

He spoke again, “So I guess I’ll just set this down somewhere and hope I don’t get yelled at.” He leaned past her and placed one of the glasses on the table before looking back at her and holding out a hand, “I’m Eddie by the way. Eddie Thawne.”

“Gideon,” she smiled a little unsurely as she shook his hand.

“I know,” Eddie responded. At Gideon’s questioning face he backtracked, “I’m a friend of Iris’ and I might have also pumped her for information on you before walking over here. You know, just to build my confidence up a bit.”

“Oh? And what would you need confidence for, Mr. Thawne?” Gideon asked playfully as she crossed her arms.

“Oh you know, come talk to you. Find out who you are in a non-stalkerish way. Maybe ask you out for coffee if you’d like?”  Eddie asked as casually as he could.

Gideon stared at him, there was no way this man was for real. Kind, attractive men did not want her, ever. Gideon scanned the crowd mingling around them. She saw Iris in the distance grinning and giving her a thumbs up. Beside her, Laurel was staring in her direction with a serious look on her face. And Sara and Leonard were staring at something across the room. Gideon followed their gaze and saw Rip and Lucy. She was currently kissing his cheek, and Gideon could practically imagine his smile and laughter.

The lead brick in the pit of her stomach tugged at her heart some more. Her best friends were getting married. Half her friends were pairing away. Her client now had someone who made him happy as well. Maybe Ray was right and it was time for Gideon to start focusing on herself for once.

Gideon looked away from the happy couple, ignoring the sharp pangs she felt in her chest. She turned back to Eddie, a hopeful look on his face, and her resolve steeled as she answered, “Coffee’s good for friends. But dinner’s even better for a date.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every romcom needs some sort of love triangle drama. But now it's just a race to the finish, we're almost there!
> 
> Thank you for all the support! Kudos or review with any thoughts/comments/concerns/whatever? Thanks!


	6. Month Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gideon sighed, “He was nice. And sweet, and cute. And I’m really not sure what else you want me to say.”
> 
> “I’m not sure what I want either,” Rip muttered under his breath. He wanted Gideon to be happy, it just grated at him that she needed someone else to do that for her. He thought if he heard about the date then he could be more supportive about it, but it didn’t help any. It just felt like someone was squeezing his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter, we're almost at the end now! This has also been one of those chapters that's been on my mind since the beginning of the story, so hopefully I've done it justice.

Rip waited five rings until she finally picked up and he didn’t even bother with a proper greeting, “Didn’t we just have a conversation about how you’re not allowed to fall off the face of the planet?”

“It’s been three days, Rip,” Gideon sighed, “Are you this needy in all your relationships? I’m beginning to see why they didn’t work out.”

“I didn’t want to give you another two weeks to yourself before you finally realized you were ignoring me. If you even realized it in the first place,” Rip defended his actions.

“Probably wouldn’t have, honestly,” Gideon muttered distractedly.

Rip could hear the incessant clacking in the background and berated her, “Are you seriously still working as you talk to me?”

The clacking stopped, “You know I work all the time. Besides, aren’t you also supposed to be at work now?”

Rip looked at the clock and found it was still rather early in the evening. He answered, “No, I came home early today. It’s Jonas’ first week back at school.”

“How’s he enjoying that?”

“Oh the usual. There’s more homework for me than him with all the forms I have to fill out. He misses the summer though, and all the free time.”

“I bet. I wish I had more free time too,” Gideon murmured.

“Well at least you’ll get a break Friday night I suppose,” Rip encouraged.

“Why would you say that?” Gideon asked unsurely.

“Game night, obviously. You’re coming right?” Rip asked.

Gideon paused before answering, “No. I can’t this week, I’m sorry. I’m busy.”

“With what? More work? Take a break!”

“No, not work,” Gideon huffed, “I…I have a date on Friday night.”

“Oh,” Rip felt a strange tightening in his chest, “Oh, well that’s nice. Who with?” He kept his voice completely neutral, though maybe not as pleasant as he would have liked to be.

“His name is Eddie. He’s a detective, partners with Iris’ dad actually. I met him at the benefit,” Gideon explained softly.

“Well then, good for you,” Rip swallowed. He joked lightly, “Want me to tag along and make sure he doesn’t turn out to be crazy?”

Gideon laughed at that, “No, I think I’ll be fine on my own. Iris vouched for him. And Ray promised to text if I need an escape or anything. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, good. That’s great. Really great. If a bit sudden,” Rip let the last part slip through his lips.

“Well, I figured with everyone else in my life seeming to pair up left and right, maybe Ray was right and I should too,” Gideon explained quietly.

“You know you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, right?” Rip went back into concerned mode. He knew from experience that it was never a good idea to jump into a relationship just for the sake of being in one. Kendra had many failed relationships because of that reason, and most of the time Rip was the one consoling her.

“I know. I want to try though. Unless, you think I’m just cursed and-”

“You’re not cursed.”

“That’s what you think,” Gideon muttered.

“I’m not having this argument with you because I’m right. And there’s really no point in wasting my breath if you’re not going to listen,” Rip leaned against the counter, “Well, have a good date I suppose. We’ll miss you at game night. Especially having you on my team, we’ll be one short now.”

“Right. I suppose you could always invite Lucy instead. She seems rather capable. And if it’s serious enough, maybe it’s time to introduce her to the friends. And Jonas,” Gideon said.

Rip hummed, “Maybe. I’m not sure yet.”

“Well when will you be?” Gideon retorted.

“I’ll be ready when I’m ready. Stop pushing me!”

“I’m your matchmaker,” Gideon stated clearly, “It is my job to help you-”

“Find my perfect match. My soulmate. Yes, I remember. And I’ll let you know when I meet the one. I just need more time to see if she’s it,” Rip breathed.

“Right. Fine, whatever. I have to go. I have work to do. Bye Rip.” There was a dial tone before Rip could even respond. Rip sighed and put his phone down. He ran his hand through his hair, fighting the sudden urge to hit something. Yet when he looked down, his hand was clenched in a fist.

“There you are. What are you doing in the kitchen? Planning on baking?” Laurel walked in with Sara behind her.

“Not particularly,” though he just might. Something to help with the sudden restlessness he felt, “I was on the phone and Jonas was playing on his game console so I needed the quiet. How did you get in my house?”

“Jonas opened the door. He’s eleven now, so he’s old enough and we shouldn’t say he’s too young,” Sara said, her voice clearly an imitation of Jonas.

“Of course he is,” Rip chuckled. His little boy was growing up and Gideon was moving on. Some part of him realized he was only this upset because he was being rather selfish. He was used to being Gideon’s only client, used to monopolizing all her time for himself. Now that she had a boyfriend, he couldn’t anymore. The thought left him feeling hollow.

“What’s wrong?” Laurel asked, arms crossed. Her typical mom face on, which honestly made Rip feel somewhat guilty for whenever he left Jonas with her.

“What makes you think something’s wrong?”

“Because you just said you weren’t going to bake and yet here you are pulling out all the ingredients for brownies. It needs more chocolate,” Sara responded before grabbing some chocolate chips.

“Nothing is wrong. Nothing. I’m just a little, I don’t know, on edge,” Rip shrugged.

“Why what happened?” Laurel asked again.

“I was just on the phone with Gideon,” Rip started his story.

The girls exchanged a look and Sara came up next to him, “And what did you guys talk about?”

“Nothing in particular. She’s not coming to game night. She has a date,” Rip said bitterly.

“A date? And how do you feel about that?” Sara asked slowly, like she was talking to a child.

“Why would it matter how I feel?” Rip asked puzzled, “As long as she’s happy and he’s good to her, that’s all that matters. Anyways, I suppose I’m just feeling out of sorts since I’ll be down a team member on game night.”

“Yeah I’m sure that’s it,” Laurel muttered under her breath before continuing, “Why don’t you invite Lucy? Don’t you think it’s about time we met her?”

“What kind of a name is Lucy anyways?” Sara complained.

Rip shot her is patented dad look before answering Laurel, “Gideon mentioned that too. Haven’t decided yet. I’m not entirely sure we’re there yet.”

“Rip, when are-”

“I will be ready when I’m ready!” Rip yelled. Both women jolted at his voice. Rip would get angry plenty of times, but usually he just got more frustrated. He hardly ever raised his voice at them. And not ever because he was really angry with them. Rip sighed and let go of the bowl he had been mixing in. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to shout. I’ve just already had this conversation plenty of times with Gideon and I’m not interested in rehashing it. I’ll think about it, okay?”

But he already knew his answer would still be no.

* * *

 

Gideon parked the car and took a calming breath. It wasn’t like this was her first date ever, she could do this. It had just been a long time since she had dated. She took one last look at herself in the mirror and fixed her hair, applied one last touch of lip-gloss and decided to call it good. She hoped it was good enough. She almost wished she had told Lily and Iris to stay and help her get ready instead of insisting they go to game night. But Gideon knew she would much rather face this alone than have anyone see her for the mess she was.

Her phone chirped with a ‘good luck’ text from Ray complete with all the heart emojis. The man had too much enthusiasm sometimes. Gideon texted back as she walked towards the door, only to run into Eddie right outside.

“Well it looks like we’re both on time!” he smiled at her, “Shall we?” He walked forward and opened the door for her. Gideon smiled as she entered. Normally Gideon did all the planning for the dates and never got to bear the fruits, it was nice to see it from the other side.

“This is a very nice restaurant,” Gideon complimented as she sipped her wine. Eddie had insisted she pick the wine and she had been rather surprised by his chivalry.

“Yeah, Iris actually recommended it. I actually wanted to impress you with my own choices, but I guess as a matchmaker you’ve always seen the best stuff,” Eddie commented.

“Not always. It’s not the place that makes the date, so much as the company,” Gideon replied. She thought of all the times Rip had taken her out for ice cream or coffee. And all their impromptu lunches and dinners. She had a good time on all of them.

“And you’re good company,” Gideon smiled at Eddie, shaking her thoughts of Rip away.

She looked at how he had dressed up in a suit for her, something she could never get Rip to do. In the back of her mind, a voice that sounded a lot like Lily berated her about comparing Eddie to Rip. A voice that sounded like Ray told her to stop thinking and just enjoy herself. So she did, or at least she tried. Eddie smiled, he laughed, he asked her questions about her work, he never once tried to belittle what she did. And he was interested in her. But no matter how hard she tried, her mind always ended back on Rip.

She wondered if he had invited Lucy to game night after all. If his arm was currently around her like he liked to do with Gideon. She thought about how whenever she made a sarcastic comment Rip would laugh at her but Eddie just looked a little unsure. While Eddie was always attentive and courteous to her, she missed the way Rip would tease her just to annoy her. And the way he would hold on to her until she had forgiven him. And by the end of the night when Eddie leaned down to kiss Gideon, she happily obliged, but she couldn’t stop wondering what it would be like to kiss Rip.

“I had a really nice time tonight, and I would really like to do this again. If that’s alright with you,” Eddie held her hand and looked at her hopefully.

Gideon smiled at him. The truth was, Eddie was a genuinely good person and Rip was unavailable. And he was her client, despite what he may have deluded her into thinking. At the end of the day, it was Gideon’s responsibility to find him someone that wasn’t her. Once she did, Gideon would be out of his life forever. And Eddie was here, looking at her and only her. He deserved a decent chance too, right? And so did she.

“I think I had better hear from you soon, otherwise I’ll be really upset,” Gideon replied.

Eddie’s face split into a grin, “Okay, great. You will most definitely hear from me again. Can’t wait!” He pecked her cheek and smiled at her before letting Gideon wander off to her car. She sighed as she sat in the driver’s seat. She did it. She survived. Her phone had multiple unanswered texts, mostly from Ray; featuring various versions of ‘how’s it going?’ and pictures and videos from game night. Gideon halfheartedly scrolled through them before deciding to just call him.

“Hey! How’d it go?” Ray asked excitedly as he picked up.

“Fine, he’s nice.”

“And?” Ray urged.

“And attractive? I don’t know, he’s nice,” Gideon repeated.

“Yeah, but what about butterflies? Sweaty palms? Did he kiss you? You know, the good stuff!”

“Oh I’m sorry; I didn’t realize I was in some sort of teen movie drama having a sleepover conversation!” Gideon rolled her eyes even though he couldn’t see her.

“Hey, I’m interested!”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Gideon apologized. She knew Ray constantly worried about her wellbeing and happiness, “It was a good date, he kissed me good night and it was nice. And hopefully he’ll call and want to see me again.”

“I’m sure he will, you’re amazing,” Ray said with pride. In the background Gideon could hear cheering and laughter.

“Are you still at game night?” Gideon asked.

“Yeah, the night’s still young technically speaking. You wanna come over here?”

“No, no. I think I’ll just head home tonight,” Gideon said.

“You should come!” Ray insisted.

“No, the date was rather draining actually,” and as she said it Gideon realized how tired she felt, “I think I’ll just go home tonight. I’m looking forward to getting out of these heels and make up.”

“Alright, if you say so,” Ray sulked, “For the record, I think Rip would have liked you being here. His team is losing terribly without you! They’re down a person.”

“He didn’t invite his girlfriend?” Gideon asked.

“No, was he supposed to?” Ray asked confused, “Do you want to talk to him? I’m in the kitchen but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind-”

“No, no, leave it. Let him enjoy game night. I’ll talk to him later. It’s been a long day for me anyways. Good night, Ray.” Ray bid her good night and Gideon hung up. She looked forward to changing out of her date clothes and just curling up and watching a romcom by herself. She didn’t know how to feel and she could use the mindless entertainment right about now.

* * *

 

“I still think fractions are stupid.”

“They’re not stupid, you need to know them,” Rip lectured his son. He needed to know them for some reason, Rip just couldn’t think of what right now.

“Why? When do you use fractions?” Jonas asked impetuously.

“Cooking. Calculating tips on the bill. Anything having to do with money. Fractions are just percentages, and you still need to know how to use them,” Gideon answered for Rip. She was sitting next to Jonas at the kitchen counter helping the boy with his homework while Rip was making dinner. Rip gave her a grateful smile while Jonas gave her an annoyed look but went back to doing his work.

Gideon looked away from Jonas and turned to Rip, a determined look on her face, “Why didn’t you invite Lucy to game night? I thought you were going to?”

“I never said I would. I said I’d think about it and then I decided not to. It’s not a big deal,” Rip dismissed.

Seeing as how she wasn’t going to get through to Rip, Gideon turned to Jonas, “Don’t you want to meet your dad’s girlfriend?”

“That would be cool I guess,” Jonas said a little unsurely. He’d never really met anybody his dad had dated yet.

“Stop using my son as blackmail!” Rip snapped at Gideon.

“Look, you said it yourself, if you’re going to date anyone long term then Jonas has to like her. And how’s he supposed to do that if he hasn’t even met her yet? You’ve been dating for nearly a month, longer than you saw Patty for. Your longest relationship yet. When are you going to be ready?” Gideon asked.

“Why does it matter so much?” Rip retorted just as frustrated.

“Rip! Your six months are almost over! How on earth, am I supposed to declare you matchmade if you don’t even try and move forward in your relationship? I’m your matchmaker, I can’t leave you alone until you decide you’re done.” Gideon said exasperated.

“Wait, you’re going to leave us?” Jonas looked at her with big sad eyes. Gideon was taken aback by the question. She wasn’t sure how to respond to the child, and honestly those eyes should be illegal.

Rip looked over at Gideon who had a guilty look on her face, unsure and sad. It was as if someone had punched him and knocked all the air out of him. It all made sense now. Why she had been so insistent on declaring him matchmade.

Gideon wanted to leave him. The thought of it made the room spin a little and he gripped the counter tightly and spoke curtly, “Jonas, would you mind finishing up your homework in the living room. I need to talk to Gideon alone.” His son was about to protest but one look at his father’s face made Jonas realize it was a bad idea. He patted Gideon on the shoulder; she was really in for it.

As soon as Jonas left the room, Rip hissed, “You’re going to leave us, aren’t you?”

“We both know I would have left at the end anyways,” Gideon responded tonelessly, her eyes staring blankly at her laptop screen.

Rip shut the laptop closed somewhat harder than he meant to, “No, we both don’t know that. I didn’t know that. But thanks for sharing with me!”

“Oh Rip, don’t be angry,” Gideon got off her stool and walked around to him. She put her hands on his arms and tried to make him see reason, “My job is to matchmake you. Once that’s done, I have no excuse to be around anymore.”

“You don’t need one, you’re our friend. All of you are now!” Rip argued.

“Yes. And maybe I’ll still stop by for a game night or two, but eventually that will end too,” Gideon reasoned. It always happened; a family would like her, promise they’d take good care of her, promise they’d see her soon and then two days later she’d hear that they decided to adopt another little girl instead. And Gideon would be left alone again.

“The truth is, once I’ve matched you up, that’s it. My job is done, you won’t need me anymore.”

Rip ran his hands up and down her arms and pulled her closer. He cradled her face in his hands and forced her to look at him with those big eyes, “I don’t care. I might not need you, but I’ll still want you in my life. Stay.”

Gideon stared at him, his pleading eyes as he searched her face. She wanted to say yes, but she couldn’t. He’d be Lucy’s soon enough. She didn’t want to see him hold her. And she didn’t want to feel her heart heavy with guilt every time she looked at Eddie. But as she looked at him, she couldn’t say no either. By the end of this, Gideon’s heart would be shattered.

She started shaking her head slowly, her voice almost cracking as she spoke, “I don’t know if I can.”

Rip exhaled slowly, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. It wasn’t a no, but it wasn’t a yes either. It hurt that after all this time Gideon still couldn’t trust him properly. He could feel his eyes burning, and his chest felt like someone had clawed out his heart and then decided to kick him for the fun of it. He let go of Gideon and took a step back turning away from her. He counted back from ten and took deep breaths until he was finally ready to face her again.

“Okay, fine. You don’t know yet. I don’t know about Lucy. We’ve still got time to figure it out,” Rip stated. His voice left no room for discussion so Gideon simply nodded mutely.

“Here, help me out and let’s talk about something else now,” Rip sighed.

“I’m terrible in the kitchen,” Gideon responded.

“Maybe, but you’re good at following orders. Peel the potatoes, would you?” Rip nodded at the potatoes next to him as he chopped vegetables. Gideon looked at them dubiously and back at Rip who was looking at her with laughter in his eyes. Gideon huffed and nudged him over as she got to work.

“There you go. See? You’re not that bad,” Rip commented. They worked in silence for a few minutes until Rip finally felt ready to bring up the topic that had been bothering him for so long, “So how was the date anyways?”

“Fine.”

“Fine? That’s all I get? Fine?” Rip snorted, “When I go out on dates you give me the third degree when it’s all over.”

“It’s my job,” Gideon muttered in concentration. She heard the rhythmic chopping stop, and looked up to see Rip staring at her with an imploring look. Gideon sighed, “He was nice. And sweet, and cute. And I’m really not sure what else you want me to say.”

“I’m not sure what I want either,” Rip muttered under his breath. He wanted Gideon to be happy, it just grated at him that she needed someone else to do that for her. He thought if he heard about the date then he could be more supportive about it, but it didn’t help any. It just felt like someone was squeezing his heart.

“Second date?” Rip asked.

Gideon shrugged, “At some point. Probably this weekend for dinner. He surprised me for lunch yesterday.”

“You usually hate being disturbed during your lunch hour,” Rip said. Gideon shrugged again in response. Rip moved on and teasingly asked, “So, are you going to run your software on him and see if he’s the one for you?”

“Shut up,” Gideon laughed. She looked at him with a smile Rip felt like he hadn’t seen in ages, “You know I don’t run the code on myself. It’d probably tell me I should live alone and adopt a lot of cats.”

“Do you even like cats?” Rip frowned.

“Not particularly. They scratch, I’d be miserable,” Gideon deadpanned.

Rip laughed, “I doubt it’d say that anyways. It’s pretty accurate.”

Gideon stared at him, “Did you just compliment my code?” She placed a hand over her heart, “This is a momentous occasion. I need to record this. The man who once said my code was ruining humanity just complimented it!”

“Shut up!” Rip grabbed her hands to make her stop the dramatics. Gideon erupted into a fit of giggles. Rip held onto her hands, completely serious as he spoke, “I was wrong. I’m sorry.”

“What?” Gideon stopped laughing and looked at him. She wanted to make some taunt about him admitting he was wrong, but could see now wasn’t the time.

Rip reached out and tucked a stray hair behind her ear, looking at her intently, “I was wrong. This is you. And, only you would be crazy enough to use something as commonplace as code and try and give it meaning by applying it to love. Only you would be good enough to do that.”

Gideon stared at him. Rip smiled at her and gave her hand a squeeze before getting back to work. Gideon stood there speechless for a good five minutes until Rip finally put her back to work. He was happy to see a smile had permanently returned to her face.

* * *

 

“I’m sure you’re all wondering why we’ve asked you to gather here today,” Leonard started.

“We’re wondering when we can leave,” Jax responded, clearly bored while Kendra shook her head at him.

“I’m wondering why you felt the need to call the meeting in my home. It’s not like you all don’t have your own places,” Rip drawled. He was sitting in his armchair with Jonas on the arm since everyone else had taken up all the other available spaces. Even though it was his house!

“And on a school night,” Kendra added shooting Jonas a worried look.

“And when some of us have to work nights,” Oliver added quietly while Thea nodded next to him. He didn’t want to speak up too much in case Sara decided to kill him.

“You’re not even working tonight,” Laurel called him out.

“He wanted a night alone with Felicity,” Thea ratted him out as Oliver shrugged innocently. Laurel rolled her eyes at him as she settled back against the couch next to a grinning Lisa.

Rip looked at Len and Sara standing up in the middle of the room, the way they were holding hands, and how both Lisa and Laurel seemed unconcerned. Rip exchanged a look with Thea whose eyes widened as she caught on too.

“Wait a minute, why are we all gathered here today?” Thea asked slowly.

“Well if you all shut up for a second, maybe we’d tell you,” Sara teased.

“Lisa and Laurel obviously already know since they’re family,” Leonard started.

“Oh my god!” both Kendra and Thea yelled at the same time. Thea was grinning from ear to ear and Kendra had her hands over her heart, tears in her eyes.

Oliver and Jax looked at each other for a second before Oliver asked, “What just happened?”

Rip sighed and put the man out of his misery, “Look at her hand.”

Leonard held out Sara’s left hand as she gushed, “We’re engaged!”

“Awesome!” Jonas exclaimed. Then the group gathered around the happy couple and started offering their congratulations. Lisa was already giving Laurel a hard time about her younger sister getting married before she was. Oliver gave Sara a huge hug and Jax started asking whether he’d get to be a groomsman or not. Rip went up last and pulled Sara into a hug.

“I’m really happy for you,” he told her.

“Thank you. For everything,” Sara said as she hugged back tightly. Rip gave her one last squeeze before he let go of her.

Rip turned to Len next and couldn’t help but tease him, “Really it’s about time. Glad you finally pulled your head out of your arse and asked her.”

“Now Rip, we don’t use that kind of language around Jonas,” Len lectured him. Rip rolled his eyes and pulled the other man in for a hug. Len pretended to put up a fight but happily returned it.

“You are more than good enough for her. And she’s perfect for you. I wish you both the very best,” Rip said quietly so no one else could hear them. Leonard patted his back in acknowledgement before he let go.

“Turns out Rip was actually right for once. It was time to move forward,” Len announced at large. Rip laughed along with the rest of the group but considered his words. He looked at Jonas and decided that maybe it was time to take his own advice and move forward in his own love life.

* * *

 

“Are you nervous?” Rip frowned at the woman next to him.

“Nervous? No, no, I don’t get nervous,” Lucy shook her head, “No, I mean I’m a little stressed and worried. But not nervous, no.”

“Well good, there’s no reason to be,” Rip replied.

Lucy reached out to hold his hand and kissed him quickly, “But I’m really glad you suggested we do this. I want to meet your son.”

“Well he’s been looking forward to meeting you too. Now come on, we need to get out of the car if we’re going to see Kendra and Jonas.”

Lucy nodded and followed him out. Rip had decided it was finally time for Jonas to meet Lucy, properly. So, he had asked Kendra to bring Jonas over to the arcade after his date so they could all be introduced properly.

“Kendra, meet Lucy,” Rip introduced as they walked over to Kendra and Jonas. As the two got acquainted, Rip pulled Jonas towards him for a hug.

“And Lucy, this is my son, Jonas.”

“Hi Jonas, it’s really nice to meet you,” Lucy bent her knees slightly so she could get to Jonas’ eye level.

“Nice to meet you too,” Jonas responded kindly, because Rip had taught his son proper manners. Rip told Kendra she was done for the night and he could handle it from there. With a wave of her hand, Kendra bid them all bye and headed back to her car.

“So what do you guys say we go play some games?” Rip asked breaking the silence. Jonas cheered while Lucy laughed a little nervously and the three of them headed to the arcade. Rip dimly thought that the last time he had been here was with Gideon and Jonas, and the energy levels had seemed higher at the time.

Overall, Rip thought it had gone rather well. As it turned out, Lucy was rather competitive while Jonas only cared about the tickets to win prizes.  Rip was mostly on edge trying to gauge the reactions between Jonas and Lucy. She seemed to be trying hard to keep Jonas in a conversation but Jonas gave mostly clipped one word answers and Lucy didn’t understand half of what pre-teens enjoyed doing these days. All in all though, it could have been a lot worse.

When Rip and Jonas finally made it home, he gave his son a half hour to decompress before he knocked on his bedroom door.

“Come in,” Jonas answered.

“Hey, what are you up to?” Rip asked as he walked over and sat on the bed next to his son.

Jonas looked away from his Gameboy and answered, “Playing a game. Gideon showed me how to get to a secret bonus level. It’s awesome.”

“Yeah I bet,” Rip laughed, “Can we talk for a minute?”

“Am I in trouble?” Jonas asked fearfully as he sat up and put his game away.

“No you’re not in trouble,” Rip smoothed his son’s bed ruffled hair, “I just wanted to know what you thought of Lucy.”

“She’s alright,” Jonas shrugged.

“Did you like her?”

“I guess.”

“Well that’s not a very clear answer, now is it? What’s wrong with her? I thought things went well tonight?” Rip asked.

“She’s fine, she just,” Jonas took a deep breath here, worried he would upset his father. Rip waited patiently until Jonas finally spoke, “She treats me like a kid.”

“You are a kid,” Rip looked at him confused.

“Yeah, but she treats me like I’m still a baby. I mean she bends down to talk to me-”

“I do that too. So does mum.”

“She’s not my mom,” Jonas retorted, “Besides, Laurel lectures me sometimes but she doesn’t try and mother me. Neither does Kendra. And Sara and Thea are like my big sisters. But they don’t treat me like a kid.”

“Well they’ve known you for longer,” Rip countered.

“Gideon doesn’t treat me like that.”

“Alright,” Rip relinquished, “What else?” One little point couldn’t be a deal breaker.

“She’s really competitive,” Jonas said, “She didn’t let me win even once.”

“The last time I let you win at something you got mad at me for going easy on you,” Rip told him, “You can’t have it both ways.”

“Alright. But Gideon taught me how to play the games I lost the last time we were there. And she let me explain the zombie game to her. And she let me have the tickets she one so I could get a big prize, remember?”

“I do. How did this turn into a conversation about Gideon?” Rip asked.

Jonas shrugged, “I like Gideon. She’s weird-”

“Jonas! Don’t say things like that!” Rip chastised.

“She is weird, but she’s also cool, Dad.” Weird but cool, high praise from an eleven year old.

“Back to Lucy now,” Rip got him back on track.

“She didn’t understand when I was explaining about my game console. Gideon always helps me out with it.”

“Gideon is also a tech genius and Lucy is a lawyer,” Rip pointed out.

“So is Laurel, but she always listens and asks questions when she doesn’t understand. Lucy just pretended to understand when she didn’t,” Jonas told him.

“Right, so overall, not that great?” Rip looked at him. He had heard enough for now.

“She’s fine. I still think Gideon’s cooler though,” Jonas flopped back on his bed.

“So do I,” Rip muttered to himself, quiet enough that Jonas didn’t hear him. Rip frowned, where had that thought come from?

“Are you going to keep dating her?” Jonas asked quietly.

Rip stroked his forehead as he answered, “I don’t know. There doesn’t really seem to be a point to it if you didn’t like her.”

“I could try and like her some more if you want me to,” Jonas tried. He wanted his dad to be happy, even if it was with Lucy.

Rip chuckled, “That’s not how it works. I’m the dad, you’re the child. Let me worry about all that. You can like whoever you want to like.” Rip thought vaguely about how quickly Jonas had warmed up to Gideon within the first meeting. That same instantaneous connection had been there with Kendra, one of the many reasons she was his babysitter. The truth was, if Jonas didn’t like Lucy the first time, chances were, a few more meetings wasn’t going to change that.

Rip sighed and got up, “Right, don’t stay up too late. Go to sleep soon.” He leaned down and kissed his son good night. To make his point about getting some sleep Rip turned off the lights so that only the sliver of light from the hallway illuminated the room.

As he was walking out, Jonas’ voice stopped him again, “Dad? Are we going to get to see her again?”

“Who?” Rip frowned. They had just finished a conversation about how he probably wasn’t going to see Lucy anymore.

“Gideon,” Jonas sat up again, “She hasn’t been around lately.” Rip went back to the bed, sat next to his son and pulled him into a side hug.

“Jonas, she’s just been busy with her own life. She has one that doesn’t revolve around me or you.” Another life with a boyfriend. The thought still irked Rip.

“I miss her,” Jonas confessed.

“Yeah, so do I,” Rip whispered into the dark.

* * *

 

“Hi Iris, is she in?” Rip asked as he walked into the lobby on Monday morning. He didn’t wait for an answer, just started sauntering past the desk.

“Rip! You can’t just go back there!” Iris yelled at him.

Rip paused and turned in his tracks, “Of course I can. Watch me.”

“She’s busy right now,” Iris warned.

“I’m her client and I actually do need to talk to her something important. Ray can talk about his wedding anxieties later!” Rip told her as he started walking again, completely ignoring whatever Iris was yelling at him.

Rip marched down the hall and was ready to spill the news to Gideon when he stopped dead in his tracks. Gideon’s door was wide open and she was kissing a blond man. Rip remembered a similar scene he had misconstrued months ago with Ray and Gideon. But there was no misunderstanding this. Gideon was taken.

Rip cleared his throat noisily and the two broke apart. Gideon looked at him in confusion, “Rip!”

Rip looked away as he apologized, “Sorry, I should have called. But I needed to talk to you.” He stepped forward then to shake hands with the boyfriend, “Hi. You must be Eddie. Rip Hunter, I’m a client of hers.”

“Hi, good to meet you. I’ll go ahead and let you get back to work then. I should get back to the precinct anyways. I had a nice lunch,” Eddie pulled Gideon close and kissed her again, “I’ll see you soon. Bye, Babe.” Rip pointedly looked out the window during the exchange. Eddie nodded at him before leaving the room.

“Babe?” Rip questioned as he shut the door behind him.

“Shut up.”

“I thought you hated pet names. Said they were irritating?” Rip asked.

“They can be, but he’s nice about it. It’s not my favourite thing, but it’s fine,” Gideon shrugged. When was she ever going to find another man that treated her nicely and actually wanted to be with her? She could let a few things slide.

“Are you okay? You sound stuffy, like you’ve been crying,” Rip frowned at her.

“Oh no, not crying. It’s just,” Gideon waved at the corner of the room where a vase of flowers was in the bookshelf.

“Let me guess, from Eddie?” Rip raised an eyebrow.

“I thought it was sweet,” Gideon countered.

“You’re allergic.”

“Well he didn’t know that. And he was very apologetic when he found out. He even offered to take it away. I didn’t want to be rude so I kept them. Although now that he’s gone I might move them out,” Gideon frowned. She walked over to the vase and got about two steps from it before she started sneezing.

“Oh come here,” Rip pulled her away from the area, “I’ll do it.”

“Just keep them outside the door. I’ll have Iris come by and take them later.” Rip nodded and did as he was told. When he turned back to the room and shut the door, Gideon was taking an allergy pill with her water.

“You going to be okay?” Rip asked worriedly.

“I’ll be fine,” Gideon waved it off, “They were just in here for a while and it got irritating.” She sat down at her desk and gestured for Rip to sit across from her.

“So what are you doing here?” Gideon asked.

“I introduced Lucy to Jonas,” Rip told her.

Gideon stopped her typing and gave Rip her full attention. Her voice was small and slightly shaky, “Oh? How’d that go? Are we calling it matchmade in heaven?”

“Not quite,” Rip started before bulldozing through, “The opposite, really. I need to break up with her.”

Gideon stared at him blankly, “What?”

“I need to break up with her.”

“I heard you the first time,” Gideon stood up. She came around and sat on the desk in front of Rip, “Are you sure? I mean the woman is basically perfect. Smart, beautiful, independent. Hell, even I’d want to date her.”

“Well considering I’m letting her go, maybe you’d have a decent chance if you weren’t with Eddie,” Rip joked. He turned serious then, “Jonas didn’t like her.”

“Well what exactly did he say?” Gideon asked.

That he liked you better, Rip thought to himself but couldn’t say the words out loud. Instead he waved it off, “He just didn’t particularly like her. The little things. The way she spoke to him, they have nothing in common either.”

“Well it was only the first meeting, maybe if he meets her a few more times-”

“That won’t happen,” Rip shook his head, “He already offered, but I know my son, Gideon. He’s mine and Miranda’s son. Stubbornness runs through his veins whether he realizes it or not. Once he’s made up his mind about someone, it doesn’t change. I’m sorry. It’s over.”

Gideon groaned and stood up, rubbing her temples, “Right, of course it is. Great.”

“What’s wrong?” Rip asked concerned. She had never reacted this way before when he said no to a potential match. He reached out and grabbed her hand before she could walk away.

“Lucy called and said you were her match. Except you don’t feel the same way. Which means now I have to deal with the fallout.”

“I didn’t even realize. Gideon, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine, I can’t very well force you to be with her. That’s not the point of this,” Gideon sighed. Rip kept his mouth shut and didn’t point out that she could have asked him to marry Lucy at this point and he would have considered it if it put a smile on her face. He chose not to dwell on that too long before he could properly process it.

“So what happens now?” Rip asked.

“You need to break up with her properly. She’s a good person, so it’s your responsibility,” Gideon told him sternly. She wouldn’t do all his dirty work for him.

“And what happens to Lucy?” Rip asked.

“Our services come with a one month guarantee service. She’ll go back into the system and we have another month to try and find someone for her. Otherwise, she gets fifty percent of her money back. It’s the fair thing to do.” Gideon pulled out of Rip’s grasp and walked back to her chair and plopped down in it. Rip felt terrible for making her job harder than it needed it to be.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated.

Gideon pulled her hands over her face thinking of all the work she had to do before looking at him again, “Don’t be. I’m sorry it didn’t work out. I really thought she was the one for you, and you were so happy.”

Rip shrugged, “Maybe. She was great, hell she was probably completely my type on paper. But that doesn’t always mean it works out in real life.”

He kept thinking back to Jonas’ comparisons of Lucy and Gideon and couldn’t help but make some of his own. He thought about how Lucy challenged him and flirted with him, like Miranda had. How he always had to tease Gideon and try to rile her up to get a reaction out of her. Lucy was a closed off person, for as nice as she had been. Gideon always got a little overwhelmed with social interactions but really, she was one of the sweetest, most innocent human beings with one of the biggest hearts. Lucy had a temper as fiery as his own, something Miranda had too, which led to most of their marriage problems. Gideon was like ice when she got overwhelmed, freezing Rip out until he could fix things with her. Vaguely he thought about how much shorter Lucy was than him, and how he had to bend down so much to kiss her. And how Gideon was almost as tall as him anyways and he could probably just lean in and steal a kiss anytime he wanted to. He stopped his train of thought there.

He may have been available now, but Gideon had someone of her own. Rip would never have her anyways.

* * *

 

It was nearly two weeks later before Rip stepped foot into Gideon’s place of work again. This time she had texted him over the weekend to come by, so at least he knew he was welcome. Rip paused in the lobby when he saw Iris arguing with Eddie softly. Eddie shook his head and patted Iris on the shoulder before turning away from her. Rip could see Iris was upset, and Eddie didn’t look much better. Eddie nodded at him on his way out but didn’t stop to talk.

Before Rip could ask what had happened, Felicity and Curtis ran into the lobby.

“Well?” Felicity shrieked. Iris shook her head and both Curtis and Felicity looked down at that.

“Sorry, what’s going on?” Rip asked concerned.

“You have an appointment?” Iris asked ignoring the question.

“Yeah, she said she wanted to talk to me about a potential date, I think,” Rip nodded at her.

“Well you might as well go on in,” Iris waved down the hall.

“Wait, is that a good idea right now?” Curtis interrupted.

“Just go,” Iris repeated. Rip nodded not bothering to understand Gideon’s coworkers. They were always a little high-strung. Rip reached Gideon’s door and found it half-open, he knocked but there was no response. He slowly opened it all the way and found Gideon sitting on her desk. Her hair was up in a ponytail, which meant she was feeling stressed; and she was biting her lip, which meant she was contemplating something. She was fidgeting with her phone and when she looked up at the interruption, there was a far off look in her eyes.

“What are you doing here?” Gideon asked confused.

“You texted me on Sunday to come in, remember?” Rip reminded her.

“Right, right. Of course, come in,” Gideon said distantly. She got up off her desk and frowned to herself, unsure of what to do next.

Rip gently closed the door behind him and walked up to Gideon. He pushed her chin up to look at her face and found her eyes were shining with tears.

“What’s wrong?” Rip asked.

“Nothing, nothing’s wrong,” Gideon inhaled sharply.

“Really? Because Eddie seemed pretty down when he left. And Felicity and Curtis were more squirrelly than usual. And you’re close to tears. Did you two have a fight?” Rip asked gently.

“I suppose, but it’s resolved really,” Gideon looked around and blinked a few times. When she looked back at him her face was stone, “We – uh, we broke up. Or rather he – you know, he did the breaking up really.”

“Gideon, I’m so sor-”

“Don’t,” Gideon said sharply. Then quieter, “Please don’t. I’ve already gotten it from Felicity and Curtis. And Iris went to try and change his mind. And I’m probably going to get it from Ray too. I don’t want you to be sorry.” Gideon moved out of his reach and walked over to her bookshelf. She started pulling books out randomly and shuffling their positions around.

“You two seemed to be getting along pretty well the last time I saw you,” Rip said quietly.

Gideon paused but didn’t look at him, she talked as she continued restacking her books, “Yes, well apparently things weren’t going all that great. I can’t even be properly mad at him, he wasn’t even rude about it. He just said that I deserved to have what I wanted. And it was over.”

“I thought he actually liked me,” Gideon whispered as she looked at her handiwork. Rip had consoled Kendra through enough break ups to know how to reasonably handle one. He walked up behind Gideon and pulled her against his chest for a hug.

“You’re allowed to be upset over it,” Rip told her quietly.

“No point in getting upset over something that was doomed from the start,” Gideon’s voice was muffled against his shirt, “No one ever wants me. I should have known that by now.”

“Don’t say that,” Rip begged.

“It’s true though,” Gideon pulled away and began pacing, “No family. No man. None of them ever stuck around.”

“Well that’s on them, not you!”

“Is it? Because I seem to be the only common factor in all of it,” Gideon crossed her arms. Before Rip could make another point, Gideon shook her head and walked back to her chair. She took a deep breath, sat down, and went back to her computer.

“Gideon? Are you okay?”

Gideon spared him a look, “No. But I’m compartmentalizing. I work best that way.”

“You don’t have to do that around me,” Rip told her.

Gideon gave him a grim smile, “I know. But I’m not doing it for you, I’m doing it for me. Right, so we need to find you another date now that you’ve properly broken it off with Lucy, don’t we?”

“Gideon, stop,” Rip reached over and placed his hand over her own, “You don’t have to worry about finding me a date right now. It’s Ray’s wedding this weekend anyways, it’s not like I could go anyways.”

Gideon looked up at him with wide eyes, “Oh god, the wedding! Oh, Lily’s going to kill me! Why couldn’t Eddie have broken up with me next week? I need a date! Do you think Paul would mind if I take Curtis?”

“Paul?” Rip asked confused.

“Curtis’ husband, but he can share for the day, right?” Gideon was already reaching for her phone when Rip grabbed her hand.

“No, no. Let’s not steal someone’s husband now,” Rip stopped her.

“But I need a date, and he’s gay anyways,” Gideon said.

“Somehow I don’t think that makes it any better,” Rip gave her a look until she put her phone down.

“But I need a date,” she repeated. She wondered how serious Nate was about his girlfriend and if breaking them up would really be that bad of an idea.

“Gideon, I will be your date if you need one,” Rip stated it as a fact.

“You? But you can’t, you’re…” Gideon trailed off, still befuddled and not sure what a proper excuse would be.

“Why not? We’re friends. I’m not married, unlike Curtis. And neither of us are attached anymore anyways. Besides, I was on the guest list anyways. This just saves Ray and Lily the trouble of another extra guest,” Rip reasoned with her.

“Right, but, still,” Gideon couldn’t think of a counter argument to that.

Rip chuckled and walked towards her. He held her face and ordered her, “Just say yes, Gideon.”

“Yes. Thank you,” Gideon looked at him softly.

“Of course,” Rip smiled as he cupped her cheek, “Anything for a friend.”

* * *

 

“Jefferson, please try and understand-”

“No, you’re an old white man. That’s the only reason you think that way, and you know it, Grey.”

“Is it always like this?” Rip whispered to Gideon as they watched the two men argue like an old married couple.

“This is rather tame for them, I think,” Gideon frowned at them.

“I still don’t understand anything,” Jonas huffed next to his dad.

Rip laughed and rubbed his son’s back, “No, I don’t think any of us do. Best to just let them hash it out on their own though.” He knew Jonas was getting bored of sitting in one place again after having watched the wedding. It had been a beautiful ceremony and Rip was fairly certain he had tears in Ray’s eyes. Lily had most definitely cried as she let go of her father’s hand.

Being Gideon’s date meant that Rip and Jonas got to sit up with the wedding party and family during the reception. But it was now in full swing and so many people had dispersed among themselves and found other friends to talk to. Gideon had told him multiple times that he was free to leave, but Rip enjoyed her company and stayed put. Which meant Jonas had to stay with him, no matter how bored he felt.

Rip turned his attention back to Jax and Martin, “Should you really be addressing your professor like that?”

“No, he really shouldn’t,” Martin disparaged.

“Oh you know I’m your favourite, Grey. Let’s not pretend,” Jax patted the older man’s shoulder.

“Be as that may, you shouldn’t always address me as such. I have told you to call me by my proper name,” Martin chided.

“And I’ve told you to call me Jax. Not like you do that either,” Jax replied. Gideon giggled at their argument and Jax turned to face her, “And what are you laughing at? It’s not like you’re any better!”

“Excuse me?” Gideon raised an eyebrow.

“You’re always calling me ‘Mr. Jackson’. All formal like all the time, it gets annoying.”

“Does it now?” Gideon replied with a mischievous look on her face.

“I knew it! I knew you did it on purpose!” Jax yelled and pointed a finger at her.

Gideon played innocent, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mr. Jackson.”

“Sure you don’t.”

“Even I’ve said you may call me by my name, and you still insist on using Professor,” Martin added.

“Let Ray call you Martin too and I’ll consider it,” Gideon shot back.

Martin grumbled under his breath. Jax laughed at him before putting an arm around his shoulder, “Oh Grey, you know you already love him. Otherwise you wouldn’t let him be your son-in-law.”

“I suppose I could take the thought into consideration,” Martin allowed.

“See that you do,” Gideon nodded with a playful smile.

“Now, if you will all excuse me. I think I’m going to go ask my own beautiful wife for a dance,” Martin bid them goodbye as he got up and left the table.

“And I’m going to go find Kendra,” Jax told them as he got up too.

“Dad, I’m still bored,” Jonas complained to his father as they were left alone, “Why didn’t you let me bring my Gameboy?”

“You shouldn’t have electronics at a wedding. It’s rude,” Rip lectured his son.

“But Gideon’s on her phone right now,” Jonas pointed at the woman.

Rip looked to his other side and sure enough, Gideon was tapping away on her phone. When she realized she had become the center of attention, she looked up with a guilty look on her face. Rip held out his hand to confiscate the device.

“Oh Rip, come on! It’s important. And I was good throughout the ceremony and it’s the reception. Ray and Lily aren’t even paying attention to me anymore!” Gideon complained.

“No. Absolutely not. No work. I am trying to set a good example for my son; will you please cooperate? Besides, Ray would kill me if I let you work on his big day,” Rip gestured again for Gideon to give up the phone. The last comment clearly got to her as she sighed and handed it over.

Gideon looked over at Jonas as playfully accused, “Tattle-tale.” Rip rolled his eyes as her words only caused Jonas to laugh.

“You’ll get it back later,” Rip promised as he pocketed the phone. Just then, Lisa came out of the crowd and offered to take Jonas and get the boy some more cake. Seeing as how it was the first statement to make his son beam all day, Rip allowed the excess sugar in his diet and waved them off.

“And then there were two,” Rip muttered at Gideon. Gideon gave him a fleeting smile but her eyes were on the happily wedded couple greeting their guests.

“They look so happy, and she looks so beautiful,” Gideon commented.

“It’s their wedding day, I would hope they’re happy,” Rip replied.

“Were you that happy when you got married?” Gideon asked.

“I suppose I was,” Rip reminisced, “But it was a long time ago. And I was madly in love then.”

“And then you fell out of love? Just like that?” Gideon crossed her arms, eyes on the crowd instead of him.

Rip looked at her profile as he answered, “And then we were married. And we had a child to worry about before ourselves. There were bills, and babysitting, work and not enough time for each other. Then the arguments started and at some point, it just didn’t seem worth it. We tried for a while actually, we didn’t just wake up one day and decide to get divorced. We wanted to keep trying, thought for sure we’d make it.”

“For Jonas?”

“For Jonas, and for ourselves. But at some point we realized there was no point in trying to keep Jonas happy if we couldn’t be happy ourselves. So we ended it. And it was sad and painful because we did love each other, but we got through it. A few months of awkwardness and side-stepping and then it was like a switch flipped and we realized we could still be friends without being married.”

Gideon stayed silent for a few moments before asking, “Can I ask a question?”

“You always do,” Rip gave her a wry smile.

Gideon bit her lip before asking, “Do you ever wish you could build a time machine and fix the things that went wrong in your past? So that you’d stayed married? Or, I don’t know, something else.”

Rip looked at her, understanding they were no longer talking about his failed marriage. He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The movement caused Gideon to turn and face him.

“No,” Rip looked at her intently, “The experiences that we have, good or bad, it’s what makes us who we are. Who you are. And I happen to like the person you are.”

Gideon looked down with a mumbled thanks and didn’t continue the conversation. They sat in a comfortable silence. Gideon watched the crowd: various couples dance across the floor, Ray and Lily talking to all their guests, the line for more cake get even longer. Rip watched Gideon: the soft smile on her face, the breathy laugh escape her lips at something she saw and the way her hands fidgeted with her dress now that her phone was gone.

Rip took her hand in his to stop the restlessness and looked at her, “Would you care to dance?”

“I’m not very good,” Gideon warned.

“I’ll lead then,” Rip got up and led her to the dance floor. He placed one hand on her waist and Gideon placed her own hand on his shoulder, their other hands interlocked together. Gideon remained stiff for the first few steps Rip took as she tried to figure out the pattern.

“Hey, don’t worry. I’ll take care of you,” Rip promised.

Gideon looked up at him then and smiled, “Okay.” She let herself relax and let Rip move her whichever way he pleased.

“You look beautiful by the way. In case I hadn’t said that before,” Rip commented.

“You didn’t, but thank you. So do you, I see you’re finally putting my suits to good use,” Gideon responded.

Rip looked down at his black suit and back at her, “Yes, well it was a special occasion after all.” Gideon laughed at that as Rip spun her out and back.

When she was back in his arms she joked, “Is it slightly concerning that all our friends are pairing up with each other?” Rip took a quick scan of the room as he considered: Lisa and Cisco, Oliver and Felicity, Amaya and Nate, Caitlin and Mick.

“I think they all found someone indirectly because of those matchmaking services. And I’m the one that’s supposed to be benefiting from them,” Rip joked with her. Instead of laughing, Gideon looked down guiltily. Rip gave her waist a reassuring squeeze, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“No, it’s true though. I’m supposed to find you your perfect match and I seem to be miserably failing. You know, I used to be good at my job.”

“You still are. I’m just a tough client,” Rip said.

“I’m still sorry. About Lucy, Patty. They would have been great for you,” Gideon said.

Rip shook his head, “No they wouldn’t be. Patty didn’t understand my sarcasm or my sense of humor, however little of it I may have. And Lucy, she was too much like Miranda looking back at it. It was the same thing, all sparks but no base for a real relationship once those were gone.”

“I see.”

“I’m sorry about Eddie,” Rip said in turn, looking at her intensely.

Gideon shook her head, “Don’t be. I think I liked the idea of Eddie more than I actually liked him. You were right.”

“I usually am.”

Gideon gave him a sharp look bellied by the smile on her face, “He was nice. But that was it. Just nice. There wasn’t anything more than that. He didn’t make my heart race or put butterflies in my stomach. Nothing. And you can’t make a relationship out of that.”

“No you can’t,” Rip agreed. He repositioned them so that he had both arms around her waist and Gideon’s arms linked around his neck.

“So all our friends are pairing up, getting engaged or married left and right, and we’re both single,” Rip summarized.

“It would certainly seem so,” Gideon agreed.

“So one month left and we’re both back at step one?” Rip asked quietly.

“Yeah,” Gideon whispered as she lay her head on his shoulder, “One month left.”

“Only a month,” Rip murmured.

Only a month, only a month, he repeated the mantra in his head as he pulled Gideon closer to him; if he held on as tight as he could, maybe he wouldn’t lose her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go!!! We're so close now!
> 
> As always, thanks for reading. Kudos/Review with any comments/questions/concerns? Thanks!


	7. Month Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “No. It’s not anything. She just doesn’t want to talk to me. She’s done with me,” Rip said sadly. He could feel his heart grow heavy with the realization: Gideon left him. Without a word, without a goodbye. She. Left. Him. The thought burned through his veins, lighting a fire in the pit of his stomach.  
> “Right, okay then,” Rip got up.  
> “Wait, that’s it? You’re just going to give up?” Sara stared at him.  
> “Give up? Who said anything about giving up? Just because she’s done with me, doesn’t mean I’m done with her. After all, she’s not allowed to leave me until I say so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We made it. Month Six. It's come to an end. I hope the read was worth it. Enjoy.

“Right then, one coffee with two sugars and a cream. Oh and a blueberry scone! And I suppose you’ll have a tea?” Gideon turned to him.

Rip nodded, “Smart as a whip. I can pay for my own things, you know?”

“Don’t worry about it, I’ve got it covered,” Gideon dismissed him as she handed her credit card over to the barista.

Rip shook his head at her. Sometimes he thought she was more stubborn than he was. As they moved out of the line and over to the side to wait for their orders, Rip couldn’t help but tease her, “What kind of Brit chooses coffee over tea?”

“The kind that needs to stay awake throughout the day. Tea just doesn’t cut it,” Gideon snarked back.

“You’re a traitor to our country,” Rip shook his head as he jokingly chastised her. Gideon snorted at him as she took out her phone to answer whatever the constant chirping was about. Rip had gotten used to it and didn’t even bother putting up a fight anymore. When the barista called their names, Gideon made no indication that she heard anything so Rip walked over to grab their drinks and scone.

When he turned back there was a man trying to engage Gideon in conversation. She looked up every so often to give a tacit reply but went straight back to her phone immediately. The man was just a little too close for Rip’s liking, and clearly couldn’t take a hint. Poor guy had no idea what he was getting into.

“Coffee and scone,” Rip announced as he came back to Gideon. He put a hand on the small of her back and turned her inwards towards him and away from the other man. Gideon smiled at him as she took her coffee and scone. Rip took the opportunity to give the other man a glare; he put his arms up in surrender and stalked off. Good. He had enough of all that when he dealt with jerks going after Kendra.

“Who was that?” Rip asked as he watched the man’s retreating figure.

“No clue. Chatty though. Even more than Ray, got kind of grating. Really don’t know what he wanted,” Gideon said as she took a sip of her coffee, “Ready to go?”

Rip nodded as he followed Gideon out onto the street. Her phone chirped again and she rolled her eyes as she texted back.

“Who is that?”

“Ray,” Gideon sighed.

“Thought they were on their honeymoon now?”

“They are. Italy, it should be nice. I’m sure they’ll have lots of pictures.”

“Is Lily not the slightest bit concerned that her husband is texting another woman during their honeymoon?” Rip joked.

“Oh shut up. I was the Maid of Honor, remember? You know perfectly well there’s nothing going on between us.” Gideon shuddered at the thought of being with Ray romantically. No. Just no.

“I remember the first time I saw the two of you, I thought something was going on, remember?” Rip shrugged as he playfully nudged her.

“Well it’s not my fault you’re an idiot that assumes things without asking the proper questions,” Gideon muttered.

“Delicate as ever, dear Gideon. I think you need to work on your charm.”

“Why? Because you’re so good at it?” Gideon teased him back.

“I have plenty of charm and class,” Rip put an offended hand to his chest, “Unlike your friend back at the coffeeshop.”

“Not my friend. I didn’t even know hi-” Gideon stopped in her tracks suddenly. Rip walked a few more steps before he realized he was alone. He turned around and saw Gideon standing still, staring at him with wide eyes.

“What?” he questioned with a frown as he walked back over to her.

“He was hitting on me,” Gideon realized.

Rip sighed and took a sip of his tea before answering, “Yes. Though, you didn’t seem all that interested.”

“I didn’t realize,” Gideon said, her hands gripping her coffee a little tighter, “I mean I wasn’t.”

“Okay then,” Rip was about to turn around before Gideon’s next words stopped him again.

“You put your arm around me.”

“I do that quite often, actually,” Rip said quietly as he looked past her.

“Yes, but I mean – you were pretending we were together.”

Rip looked at her face to gauge her reaction but saw only confusion there. He shrugged, “I was just letting him know you weren’t alone. And sometimes men are pigs and don’t leave a woman alone until another man comes along. Don’t ask me why, I don’t know.”

“Right,” Gideon nodded a little unsurely.

“And also because if I didn’t he would have had to face your wrath when you finally realized. And the poor guy probably didn’t deserve to have all his credit cards maxed out and lose his job in the same week,” Rip gave her a look.

“You talked to Nate, didn’t you?” Gideon sighed. When Rip nodded with a smile on his face she defended herself, “He broke my heart! I mean, not really, but I was hurt. And I returned everything eventually. And helped him get another job. Because Ray made me.”

“Speaking of Ray,” Rip said as Gideon’s phone chirped with another text. He reached out and grabbed it from her hands causing her to jump on him to try and get it back. Rip had enough practice with Jonas and Sara in trying to keep something out of their reach. It wasn’t that hard to hold Gideon back with one arm as he read the text.

“It’s your birthday?” Rip looked at her in surprise.

“Yes, it is my birthday. Now can I have my phone back?” Gideon huffed. Rip stopped fighting her and let her snatch back her phone as he stared at her blankly.

“It’s your birthday.”

“Yes, we’ve already established that. Thirty-one years ago today, I was born. Hooray,” Gideon deadpanned.

“Yeah but, I didn’t know,” Rip stuttered.

“Well why would you know? I didn’t tell you,” Gideon dismissed it.

“Yeah but, why didn’t you?”

“I didn’t want to make such a big deal about it,” Gideon shrugged, “Now come on. Or we’ll both be late for work.”

“Like it matters,” Rip muttered as he paced to keep up with her. They threw away their empty cups in a trashcan, which caused Rip to blurt out, “You paid for the coffee.”

“Yes, I did. Rip, I’m rich,” Gideon stated bluntly, “A couple of cups of coffee is not going to put me in debt.”

Rip grabbed her hand and stopped her, “That’s not what I meant, by all means you’re more than welcome to buy me a steak dinner, I don’t care. I meant it’s your birthday, you shouldn’t have had to pay. I could have gotten it. I would have liked to have done something for you.”

Gideon automatically turned into him, her hands going to play with the collar of his shirt. She looked down as she spoke nervously, “You got coffee with me. Because I asked you to. Not for any reason related to matchmaking, but as friends.”

“Yeah, but I would have done that any day if you asked,” Rip told her.

Gideon looked up then a soft look in her eyes, “Yes. I know. But it wasn’t about you, it was about me. Accepting that fact. So thank you.”

Rip shook his head at her and wrapped his arms around her. “Happy birthday, Gideon,” he whispered into her hair.

“Thank you, Rip,” Gideon squeezed him tighter.

It wasn’t until Rip was alone in his office that he realized what he should do. Immediately he pulled out his phone and chose the contact. He waited until the line picked up before speaking, “Iris? It’s Rip. I need to talk to you about Gideon.”

* * *

 

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!”

Gideon stood frozen in shock at the door. She stared at the crowd inside. Everyone, sans Ray and Lily, was inside Rip’s house staring at her. Behind her Felicity was slowly losing her grin as she watched Gideon’s face. Iris was already looking her over worriedly, her hand coming to rest on Gideon’s shoulder.

“She doesn’t look too good. Are you sure this was a good idea?” Kendra asked inside the house.

“Yes, I’m sure. All of you go to the living room and let them inside,” Rip waved his hands at the group, it was like herding cattle. Then he turned back to the girls and gestured them in.

“Okay, come on. In we go. You can do this,” Felicity gently pushed a shocked Gideon inside.

“I’ve got it from here,” Rip assured the two girls. Iris and Felicity looked at each other before shrugging and heading inside. Rip turned back to Gideon who still looked like a statue. He sighed and dragged her into his arms, “Oh come here. You look positively petrified.”

“Of course I’m petrified! What on earth would make you think this was a good idea? I’m terrible with people!” Gideon berated him.

“Oh yes, how terrible of me for inviting all our friends to my house, it’s not like they’re not all here all the time anyways,” Rip answered sarcastically. Gideon shot him a dirty look and tried to pull out of his arms but Rip wouldn’t let her go. He held on to her as he tried to calm her down, “Hey, hey. Please stop freaking out. It’s just game night, that’s all it is. Okay? It’s game night but everyone knows it’s your birthday and I made cake. I know you hate it when people make a big fuss about you, otherwise I would have gone all out. But it’s just another regularly scheduled game night. And I baked. You can’t say no to that, I’m the best baker ever.”

“Well someone’s modest.”

“No point in being modest if it’s true. Now are you ready to go in?” Rip asked as he let go of her and gestured toward the living room. Gideon sighed and gave him a short nod before leading the way.

“Gideon!” Jonas yelled. He ran up to her and wrapped his arms around her middle. Gideon was thrown off balance; but at Iris’ encouraging face, she lightly wrapped her arms around the boy. Jonas looked up at her and whispered, “You’re not mad, are you?”

“No. I’m not mad. I was just surprised, that’s all,” Gideon told him quietly.

“Oh good, that was the point of it all,” Jonas smiled at her. He grabbed Gideon’s hand and led her to the couch as he spoke, “Come on, you get to sit next to me and be on my team.”

“Hold on, why do you get the birthday girl?” Thea asked Jonas with crossed arms.

“Because I’m the youngest. I always get my way, duh,” Jonas rolled his eyes at her.

“Smart kid,” Felicity complimented Rip.

Rip shrugged, “Well you certainly can’t argue with his logic I suppose. Even if he could be a little nicer about it.” Rip threw his son a sharp look; Jonas looked back with a sheepish look of his own.

“Stop being such a dad, Rip!” Sara yelled at him. Rip held his arms up in surrender before settling down next to Gideon. Jonas and Rip sat on either side of Gideon, effectively sandwiching her in with no escape.

Game night occurred in the same high spirits it always did. Lisa undoubtedly called another player a cheater. Sara threatened to take out her knives even though Laurel lectured her while Leonard egged her on. Rip complained his team was only losing because they didn’t have Gideon with them. Every time Felicity got a point, she felt the need to either jump up and dance or give Oliver a kiss. The only difference to this game night was that at Gideon’s request (being the birthday girl) they played with Jonas’ game console as well.

Most everyone lost rather quickly within the first few rounds. Wally, Jax and Jonas were the only ones to last longer than five, due to the fact they were always playing on it. But it was no surprise when the contenders for the final victory came down to Cisco, Felicity and Gideon: the tech team. Felicity bowed out in surrender leaving Cisco and Gideon to battle it out. It seemed Gideon was going to win – Jonas was cheering her on like crazy – when suddenly her character fumbled and Cisco took the prize.

Cisco jumped up with a victorious shout and leaned over to pull Lisa in for a kiss. Leonard yelled at them to get a room while Caitlin looked like she couldn’t decide whether to coo or look away in disgust. Rip only had eyes for Gideon, who smiled at the sight.

“You threw the game, didn’t you?” Rip asked her.

“I have no clue what you’re talking about,” her voice was impassive but she refused to look at Rip.

Rip shook his head at her. She was always doing this. He took her hand in his and squeezed it. Gideon looked over at him as he breathed, “What am I going to do with you?”

“I don’t know,” Gideon admitted just as quietly.

“Okay, enough games. Cake!”

Rip startled as Sara’s yell brought him back to reality. He sighed and made his way to the kitchen (because no one else would take the responsibility) to bring out the cake. They sang happy birthday and Gideon blew out the candles. Iris and Felicity both squashed her in a hug while Rip cut the cake. At least having something to fill their stomachs would keep them all quiet for a while. Slowly the crowd dispersed to different parts of the house breaking up into smaller cliques and pairs.

Iris was grilling Sara and Leonard on their upcoming wedding, and whether they were considering using Gideon’s services. Barry and Cisco were trying to explain something science related to Kendra, who nodded along politely but didn’t understand a word. Behind her, Wally was laughing at them. Felicity was showing Oliver and Laurel even more pictures of her goddaughter. Jonas and Gideon were discussing upcoming plans for Halloween and what costume Jonas could wear. Rip let them do as they pleased, as long as they weren’t getting in the way of his cleaning up.

Once he was finished, he looked around the house but couldn’t find Gideon. Kendra saw his frown and must have guessed what was on his mind because she told him to check the backyard. Sure enough when Rip went outside, he saw Gideon sitting on the steps, phone in her hand as always.

“You’re sitting all alone at your own birthday party?”

Gideon looked up as Rip joined her, “I thought you said it was just another game night?”

“Game night with cake; that makes it a party. The cake makes it special,” Rip informed her.

“Oh of course, my mistake. No, Ray just called and I wanted some quiet to talk to him. It’s hard to find it in there.”

Rip nodded in understanding, “Yeah, they’re all a bit much at times. How’s Ray doing?”

“Good. They’re having a great time. Though, they’re both a little annoyed they couldn’t be here for the party. Thank you for that by the way. I loved it, it was perfect for me,” Gideon added quietly.

“I’m glad. I might have asked Ray for a few tips. And I might have also asked for advice on the present as well,” Rip admitted as he pulled out a box from behind him.

“Rip,” Gideon groaned, “You really didn’t have to do that. The party was more than enough and I don’t need any more stuff-”

“You really should have seen this coming. Did we not discuss before that you were getting a really extravagant birthday present,” Rip joked with her, “I’ll admit, they’re not diamond earrings since you ruled those out. But you said you liked necklaces, so.”

Rip handed her the long velvet box. Gideon looked at him suspiciously as she opened it. Nestled inside the velvet cushion was a simple silver chain. And at the end of it, a plain heart shaped pendant, save for an engraving. Her name.

“I know it’s not much,” Rip started, “But you hate flashy jewelry. And it’s something Thea always complains about. Never having her name on those key chains and things. Oliver always has to get her stuff engraved personally, so I knew where to go. If you don’t like it, I can-”

“No, I love it. I do,” Gideon looked up at him with a dogged look, “’Gideon’ isn’t exactly a common name, let alone for girls. You had to pay extra to get my name on it, didn’t you?”

Rip shrugged, “Not by much.” Rip watched as Gideon took the necklace out of its box gingerly, “You don’t have to put it on if you don’t want-”

“I want to. It’s mine. It has my name on it. Will you help me put it on?”

Rip nodded and took the ends of the necklace. Gideon pulled her hair up as she turned around so Rip could clasp the necklace closed. His fingers ghosted the back of her neck as he whispered, “Done.”

Gideon turned around, her fingers already toying with the pendant. She was much closer than Rip realized and she was looking at him with those big eyes again. He reached out and cupped her cheek. Gideon continued to hold his gaze, and her breath. Rip leaned forward tilting his head, just a little more and maybe he could-

“Rip! Oh shit, I’m sorry!” Sara’s yell jolted the two out of their moment. Gideon leaned back against the railing with a small gasp, pointedly looking out into the backyard. Rip awkwardly swallowed as he slowly moved back as well, he turned to Sara with a frown on his face. Sara looked at them guiltily, “I’m sorry I didn’t realize I was interrupting-”

“You weren’t,” Rip cut her off. He took a deep breath, nothing would have happened anyways. “What’s wrong?”

“Jonas broke a plate. He’s fine, it’s just a small cut on his foot. But he says it hurts and we thought you’d want to know.”

“Right, right. I’ll be there in a minute. Just,” Rip trailed off. Sara nodded once and headed back inside closing the door behind her.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean-”

“It’s fine. I know,” Gideon stopped him. She was still looking out at the backyard, “You should go. Make sure Jonas is alright.” She turned to him and gave him a soft look.

“Right, I have to go. Are you coming in too?” Rip asked as he got up.

“I will. Just need a few more minutes to myself before facing the crowd,” Gideon plastered on a smile, “Go on. I’ll be in.” Rip made it to the door before Gideon’s voice stopped him again, “Rip? Thank you. For everything. It was a wonderful night and a wonderful present, I mean it.” Rip looked at Gideon who was playing with her necklace again, a smile on her face. Small, but real.

“Good. I’m glad. You deserve it. I’ll see you soon,” Rip told her softly. Then he walked inside and closed the door.

* * *

 

“Can’t talk now. Working. Highly stressed, as you can see. Leave. Door. There,” Gideon pointed at the door not even looking up from her tablet as she paced the floor.

“We know you’re stressed, that’s why we’re here to help,” Felicity said as Curtis entered behind her.

“I’m serious. I have less than a month to find the perfect woman for Rip and I’ve got nothing! I can’t handle any distractions right now,” Gideon told them.

“We’re not distracting. We’re helping,” Curtis repeated, “We’ve also run algorithms and we have some options.”

“The two of you sent him on dates with crazies!”

“Okay, yes. Mistakes were made, which is why we’re running the choices by you first. Full veto power,” Felicity told her.

“Okay, fine,” Gideon conceded, “Tell me what you’ve come up with.” She sighed as she put down her tablet and sat on her desk.

“Okay, first up: Lena Luthor,” Curtis started, “She’s smart, has her own company but she isn’t a complete workaholic like Isabel, and she was adopted like Rip was so-”

“Yes, and her adoptive brother was in jail last I heard,” Gideon responded acerbically, “I’m sure she’s nice, but I’m not letting Rip get involved in all that scandal. It’s too much publicity for him, he prefers the quiet life. Next.”

“Okay, what about Eve Teschmaker?” Felicity took the lead, “She’s also had a bad string of dates. But she’s really sweet and bubbly and-”

“And would drive Rip mad in a few seconds,” Gideon finished, “No. She’s far too upbeat. She wouldn’t understand his sense of humor at all. It would never work. Next.”

“Okay, not a problem. Linda Park,” Curtis suggested, “She’s a badass journalist, sarcastic sense of humor-”

“And not interested in children,” Gideon said, “We have to think about Jonas over here too. I mean, whoever comes into Rip’s life is effectively going to be a secondary mother figure to him. Without, you know, actually trying to take his mother’s place. That’s important too.”

“Kara Danvers,” Felicity finally said, “Adopted. She’s friends with Winn so you know she can take dry humor. Journalist, and a good one at that. She likes to keep to herself but she’s great at making friends. She’s a sweet cinnamon roll, who also happens to love kids.”

“No.”

“No?” Curtis repeated, “What’s wrong with her? Everything about her is perfect!”

“Because, she’s – she’s blonde! And – and – and perfect and nice and shiny!” Gideon snapped as she began pacing, “This is Rip. He’s a dad, he likes to fix other people’s problems before focusing on his own. He needs someone he can take care of, but someone who’s also going to take care of him.”

“Do you think you’re maybe being a bit too picky?” Felicity asked quietly.

Gideon crossed her arms as she glared at the pair of them, “No. I don’t. This is Rip, my only client. And our friend. He deserves the best woman possible. None of those choices are it.”

“They all matched higher than ninety percent with him,” Curtis pointed out.

“It’s not good enough!” Gideon exploded, “We don’t have time for Rip to go on a few dates and decide. The next woman he dates has to be the one. And he has to just know. She has to be perfect for him. I promised him that. I promised him he would be happy.”

Curtis and Felicity exchanged a look. Then Felicity walked over and pulled Gideon into a hug. Curtis came over and joined in too.

“Why are you hugging me?”

“If you really have to ask,” Felicity said.

“Then you really need it,” Curtis finished. Gideon sighed and just let her friends hold her.

* * *

 

“Hey, I’m home!” Rip called as he shut the front door.

“We’re in the living room!” Kendra called back. Rip walked in and saw Kendra on the couch. Jonas was sitting next to her and showing her a drawing, animatedly explaining it to her.

“Hey, what did I miss?” Rip asked as he sat down next to Jonas. He ruffled his son’s hair and gave him a kiss on his forehead. Jonas of course wiped his face immediately and whined about it. Rip laughed, “Right, sorry. I forgot. You’re too old now. Did you finish your homework?”

“I just have some history left,” Jonas responded.

“He finished everything else. So I figured I’d give him a break and let him work on it with you,” Kendra explained.

Rip nodded, “Sure. We can take a look at it after dinner. What have you got there?”

“Blueprints for my Halloween costume. Wanna see?” Jonas handed the paper to Rip.

“Of course I want to see. What is it?” Rip asked as he took the paper.

“Cyborg. Half robot, half person. It’s super cool! Gideon gave me the idea and said she could give me some real tech pieces to make it look super real!” Jonas prattled, “It’s going to be great! Kendra’s going as a gypsy. And Sara said she’d dress up as a bird, it’s going to be so awesome!” Rip laughed at his son’s enthusiasm. His love for Halloween was something he got from Miranda.

“And we can go to the haunted house with Gideon this year!” Jonas continued.

“We’ll see,” Rip calmed his son down, “I’m not sure Gideon will be too interested. She’s got a lot on her plate, and she doesn’t really like haunted houses anyways.”

“No, she has to come! I already asked her, and she said yes. She promised, so she’s going,” Jonas finalized.

“Well alright then,” Rip agreed not wanting to argue with his son, “I guess she’s coming with us.” Jonas nodded and told them he was going to his room and left Rip and Kendra on the couch.

“He’s growing up so fast,” Kendra said softly.

Rip looked at her, “Yeah he is. You okay?”

Kendra shrugged, “Yeah, I guess. I mean I know he’s not my son-”

“Jonas loves you. He has since the minute he set eyes on you,” Rip stopped her. In retrospect, they probably should have reinforced the concept of ‘stranger danger’ more to their son.

“Yeah I know. But pretty soon, he’s not going to need a babysitter anymore,” Kendra sighed.

“That’s probably true,” Rip admitted. At Kendra’s crestfallen face, he hurriedly continued, “But that doesn’t mean you’re not going to be around here anymore. You’re an integral part of his life; he’s not just going to give you up.”

Kendra gave him a funny look, “You sound like you’ve given this pep talk before.”

“I have. Every morning in the mirror. Every single time he announces he’s too old for something else. Pretty soon he’s going to be blowing me off for his own friends, stop wanting to do game nights-”

“Start dating,” Kendra added for him.

“No. Absolutely not. No dating. Not now, not ever,” Rip said resolutely. Kendra laughed at him and scooted closer so she could lean her head on his shoulder.

“He’s always going to need us, though. Right?” she asked quietly.

“I don’t know. As a parent, I’m supposed to want him to be independent eventually. But I’m not ready to give him up just yet. At the very least, we can hope he’s always going to want us,” Rip comforted.

“It’s all just going so fast. You know, he said this was going to be his last Halloween trick-or-treating? He loves Halloween, thinks it should be a national holiday,” Kendra informed him.

“I supposed all good things have to end at some point,” Rip commiserated. He looked down at the drawing in his hands, “Still, at least he’s going out with a bang. There is a lot of detail in here.”

Kendra looked over at it with him, “Yeah. Sure is. Gideon must have helped a lot. She’s been really great with him, and he loves talking about her.”

“Yeah, well. Gideon is pretty amazing, isn’t she?” Rip agreed with a smile. Kendra hummed noncommittally and patted his back at that.

* * *

 

“Aren’t you even going to ask me how my trip was?”

Gideon spared a moment to look up and saw that Ray was seating himself in the chair across from her desk. She sighed as she answered, “Hi Ray. Good to see you. So nice of you to drop by during my lunch hour, which is technically supposed to be my one hour I have to myself-”

“You’re working through lunch anyways. You need me here,” Ray interrupted. Seeing Gideon’s face, he apologized, “Right, sorry. Please continue.”

“How was your honeymoon? Oh no wait, I don’t need to ask. Because I got all the texts, phone calls and pictures from it. I also had dinner with you and Lily the other night when you got back. So I already know everything. Now why are you here?” Gideon asked.

Ray shrugged, “Felicity might have mentioned you were a little more stressed these days at work. She thought I should drop by and check on you.”

“Felicity should mind her own business,” Gideon muttered. She groaned as she rubbed her eyes to keep herself alert, “Of course I’m stressed. I only have two weeks left to find Rip someone and nothing is working. I am this close to pulling my own hair out!”

“Well don’t do that, you have such nice hair. It’s so long and luscious, no reason to ruin good hair,” Ray replied. Gideon gave him an unimpressed look so Ray continued on, “I thought Felicity and Curtis already gave you some names to look at?”

Gideon snorted, “Those were terrible choices.”

“Why?” Ray asked. Gideon looked up, taken aback by the harshness in his tone. Gideon could see the seriousness in his look, so she began explaining.

Gideon leaned back and crossed her arms in the classic defensive position, “Eve is too perky. Lena’s family is involved in a media scandal every other month. Linda doesn’t like kids. And Kara is – she’s blonde.”

Ray shook his head, “You’re so full of crap.”

“Excuse me?” Ray never talked to her like that. To shareholders, to unruly men, but never to her. She stared at him, “You’re angry with me. You’ve never been angry with me.”

“I’m not angry. I’m just frustrated and I’m tired of seeing this!” Ray said.

“Seeing what?” Gideon asked as she looked back at her computer.

“This!” Ray gestured at her, “You can’t see anything unless your code spells it out for you.”

“Ray,” Gideon warned.

Ray shook his head at her, “You know it’s true. You have one of the biggest hearts I have ever known, and you give so much so easily, except for the one thing that matters. Your trust. You trust your code more than you do actual people.”

“My code doesn’t lie or hurt me. People do,” Gideon said, her vision blurring slightly.

“No, it’s because you are so scared to make an actual human connection that you refuse to even consider it. Or put everything you’ve got into a relationship, which is probably why they all fail.”

“Shut up!” Gideon got up not wanting to hear anymore, “What, so now it’s all my fault? As if putting your whole heart into relationships hasn’t burned you before.”

“No, it did. And it hurt, but I also got Lily out of it. And I got you,” Ray said more calmly, “The fact is, you don’t give anyone a chance unless your code tells you to. So you can’t even see what’s right in front of your face!”

“And what would that be?” Gideon spat as she paced her office.

“Eve is a sweetheart, and she can make almost anyone laugh. Lena Luthor is a good person, despite what her family may have done. She’s working to build a new brand and she hates the media spectacle. Linda is an amazing journalist, so what if she doesn’t like kids? Neither do you, and you still love spending time with Jonas. And Kara is basically everyone’s definition of perfect – being blonde is not a reason! You don’t have a legitimate excuse for any of these women to not date Rip!” Ray raised his voice as he stood up as well.

“They’re not right for him! Rip deserves the best and the most perfect woman-”

“No, you’ve said it yourself. Everyone’s definition of perfect is different,” Ray interrupted her, “Why can’t Rip fall madly in love with one of them and find his soulmate?”

“Because I don’t want him to!” Gideon exploded.

“Don’t want him to what?” Ray urged quietly.

Gideon played with her necklace, eyes searching for an escape. She was finding it rather difficult to breathe currently. Ray reached out and put a steadying hand on her shoulder as he repeated, “Don’t want him to what?”

“I don’t want him to fall in love with someone else,” Gideon whispered, “Not when…”

“Not when what?”

“Not when he has me. Not when I’m already in love with him,” Gideon could barely see through the tears in her eyes. She blinked and let them escape for once.

“There you go,” Ray said as he gathered her into his arms. Gideon collapsed into his arms as she cried.

“It’s not fair. You never said it hurt this much. I don’t want it to hurt this much,” Gideon cried.

Ray stroked her hair as he shushed her, “I know. Love sucks sometimes. But it’s also really worth it.”

“No. It’s not. I can’t do it anymore,” Gideon gasped, “I can’t watch him fall in love with another woman. I can’t do it.” Gideon whimpered as Ray held her closer. She had to end it. Now.

* * *

 

Rip didn’t even get a word in as he opened the door; the Lance sisters just barged right in.

“Jonas, please go play outside with Kendra now,” Laurel announced.

Jonas looked up from his videogame as he complained, “But why? I’m about to get to the next level and-”

“Jonas, just do it,” Laurel crossed her arms and used her mom voice.

Kendra looked between the two women and Rip’s confused face and figured out what was happening. She ushered Jonas to her, “Come on Jonas. Grab your stuff; we can play outside where it’s quiet anyways.” Jonas shot her a look of betrayal, but Kendra flashed her eyes at him; which meant he really had to go. Jonas huffed but left the room with Kendra.

Rip waited until he heard the door close before addressing the two of them, “What the hell happened that you had to ask Jonas to leave the house?”

“I didn’t want a little boy to see me hit his dad,” Sara said before turning around and punching Rip in the shoulder.

“Ow! Sara! What the hell was that for?” Rip yelled as he rubbed his bruised shoulder. He looked over at Laurel who for once made no effort to stop her sister’s violence.

“The matchmakers gave us a refund. In full,” Laurel explained succinctly.

“Why the hell would they do that? They’re only supposed to do that if they don’t find a match in time. I still have like a week left,” Rip looked at them incredulously.

“Clearly they think you’re beyond help,” Sara barked.

“No,” Rip shook his head, “There must be some sort of mistake. Gideon would have told me if something had changed.”

“Well clearly she didn’t. She just gave up on you,” Sara told him.

“She wouldn’t do that!” Rip snapped at them.

“Well what happened then? Because we have money in our accounts now. Rip, what did you do?” Laurel asked.

“Nothing, I didn’t do anything! I don’t understand what’s going on,” Rip sat down, looking lost and unsure of himself.

“Well clearly something happened. Did you two have a fight or something?” Sara asked in a calmer voice as she and Laurel sat on either side of him.

“No, everything was fine. I mean I haven’t talked to her in a while, but the last time we talked, things were fine. She was complaining about how she didn’t have enough time to find me another date this weekend, but she didn’t say she would drop me as her client,” Rip said.

“Maybe you should talk to her,” Laurel suggested.

Yes. Talking to her, that was a good idea. Rip took out his phone and sent a text to Gideon. He waited a couple of minutes and frowned when there was no response. Then he gave up and decided to call her. The phone rang and rang and rang. But no one picked up.

“She’s not answering me. At all,” Rip looked forlorn.

“Maybe she’s just busy,” Laurel consoled him.

“With what? She’s always attached to her phone; it’s an extension of herself!”

“Well maybe-”

“No. It’s not anything. She just doesn’t want to talk to me. She’s done with me,” Rip said sadly. He could feel his heart grow heavy with the realization: Gideon left him. Without a word, without a goodbye. She. Left. Him. The thought burned through his veins, lighting a fire in the pit of his stomach.

“Right, okay then,” Rip got up.

“Wait, that’s it? You’re just going to give up?” Sara stared at him.

“Give up? Who said anything about giving up? Just because she’s done with me, doesn’t mean I’m done with her. After all, she’s not allowed to leave me until I say so.”

* * *

 

Rip marched right into the lobby past Iris, not even sparing her a glance. He could hear her telling him to stop but he didn’t give her a second thought. He got as close as turning the corner when Felicity came out of nowhere and blocked his path.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Felicity warned.

“Felicity,” Rip growled, “Now is really not the time. Now move.”

“She said she doesn’t want to see you.”

“Yes, I got that from her not answering any of my texts or calls. Look, if she wants to be angry with me and cut me out of her life, she can. But I at least deserve an explanation as to why. Now move, please,” Rip tried again, clamping down on his rage. Felicity gave him an unsure look before stepping to the side.

“Rip, she better not hate me for this,” Felicity called back to him. Rip nodded once and continued on. He didn’t bother knocking on the door, it was always open anyways. He simply walked in and closed it behind him.

“Where the hell do you get off doing something like that?” Rip seethed at her. Gideon jumped at the entrance and looked at him in surprise.

“What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here?” Rip repeated incredulously, “I’m here because you stopped responding to my texts. And returning my phone calls. I’m here because you gave my friends a full refund. My six months aren’t even over yet!”

Gideon walked around her desk and tried to pacify him, “Mr. Hunter-”

“Mr. Hunter?” Rip exhaled slowly, “Really? After everything we’ve been through? That is low.”

Gideon had the decency to look ashamed, “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want you to be sorry. I just want an explanation. Gideon, please. What did I do wrong?” Rip took a step forward only for Gideon to take a step back.

She fidgeted with her neclace, “Nothing. You didn’t do anything wrong. I just couldn’t find you a match. I’m sorry. I failed. I just, I couldn’t do it.”

“That’s fine, I don’t care about it. Just don’t leave me like that-”

“If you want to keep using our matchmaking services then we can assign you another matchmaker,” Gideon continued robotically, ignoring him completely.

“I don’t want another matchmaker!” Rip tried to argue.

“Well then I’m sorry. There’s nothing more I can do for you,” Gideon made to turn away but Rip grabbed her hand. Gideon turned back around, “Please let go of me.”

“Not until you tell me what I did wrong,” Rip pleaded.

“I told you. You didn’t do anything wrong. This is just me being me. I can’t be your matchmaker anymore, I’m sorry,” Gideon repeated.

“Yeah but, just because you’re not my matchmaker anymore, doesn’t mean we can’t still be friends,” Rip gave her a weak smile.

Gideon shook her head, “I can’t. I can’t. That’s not a good idea.”

Rip reached out a hand and touched her cheek, “Gideon, please-”

Gideon twisted away from his touch and looked away miserably, “I think you should go.”

“Gideon-”

“Please leave.” Rip stared at her, at the broken look in her eyes, at the shaky breaths she took and he took a step back.

“Okay, okay then,” Rip looked away. He could tell when he had lost, “I’ll just go then.” It was over. He got as close as the door, hand on the handle, when Gideon stopped him.

“Rip, wait!” Rip turned around in hopes that she had changed her mind. But Gideon wasn’t looking at him, she was walking over to her bookshelf. She took something down from the bookshelf and held it out for him.

“What’s that for?” Rip asked in confusion. Two seconds ago, she wanted him gone, and now she was stopping him to give him something?

“It’s for you, well I mean, it’s for Jonas. It’s an earpiece,” Gideon explained.

“For Jonas?” Rip repeated as he took a step towards her.

“Yes, for his Halloween costume. I’ve been collecting stuff to help make his cyborg costume. I gave most of it to Laurel to give to Kendra, but I forgot about this,” Gideon held out the earpiece.

“For his Halloween costume,” Rip repeated dumbly.

“Yes. I told him I’d help him make it. I know I haven’t been around much, but I thought he’d still want it,” Gideon held out the earpiece for Rip to take, but he continued to stare at her blankly. “Or he doesn’t? Or maybe you just don’t want to take it?” Rip stayed silent so Gideon floundered on, “Okay, that’s fine. I deserve that. Well, I can give it to him later then, on my own? At the haunted house, if I can still come along?”

“You’re the one that wanted out of our lives,” Rip pointed out harshly. Gideon bit her lip and looked down at that, nodding guiltily. Then Rip backtracked on her words, “Haunted house?”

“Yes, I promised him.”

“But you hate haunted houses. And everything horror,” Rip stared at her.

“Yes. But I promised him. I don’t want to hurt his feelings. Or break another promise,” Gideon said bluntly.

“You seem to have no problem hurting my feelings.”

“Yes, but he’s your son. And I know you get veto power and everything. But I do care about him, and I don’t want to just leave him like tha-”

Rip surged forward, one hand on her cheek and another on her waist as his lips crashed into hers. Gideon gasped into the kiss and instinctively reacted, going up on her tiptoes and clinging to his shoulders to meet his fervor. Rip moaned into the kiss as he pushed her back against the wall, his hands mapping her body – her cheeks, her waist, her hair, everywhere. He could feel her soft curves pressing against his body as he tried to hold her tighter, the way her own hands were currently exploring his hair. Eventually Rip receded a bit, letting out a breath of laughter at the way Gideon leaned forward, eyes still closed, chasing after him. He pressed butterfly kisses on her cheek and down the column of her throat to satisfy her, listening to the breathy moans that escaped her mouth. Then he kissed her sweetly on the lips again, his forehead resting against hers so he could see the bliss on her face. His hands were still around her waist, hers around his neck, and he still had her pressed against the wall.

Gideon’s eyes fluttered open as she breathed, “What was that about?”

“Really? I thought I made myself rather clear,” Rip gave her a wry grin.

“Rip,” Gideon started.

He kissed her softly again before murmuring, “Have dinner with me.”

“What?”

“Have dinner with me,” his hands ran up and down her sides, “Tonight, or Friday. Just some time soon. Have dinner with me, I’ll even wear one of your suits. Just say yes, please.”

“Why?” Gideon stared at him.

“Because you don’t count coffee as a real date. Which is a shame because then we’d already be dating and I wouldn’t have to go through all this effort trying to ask you out on our first date,” Rip responded drily.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it. Why now? Why me at all? Why-”

“Because Jonas loves you,” Rip stared at her deeply, “I just never gave it a second thought because it’s you, how could he not? Because even though you have no problem breaking my heart, you couldn’t do that to Jonas. You care about him more than you do me. And you don’t even react to children that well.”

“Jonas is an exception,” Gideon mumbled.

“I would hope so,” he fought the urge to kiss her again and continued, “Because I hate the thought of you leaving me. Because at some point I stopped caring about the dates I went on, and only looked forward to them because it meant getting to spend more time with you. Because I like your blunt sense of humor and your sass and the way you still let me hold you in my arms even when you’re mad at me. Because you’re not just nice. You can keep up with me in an argument and you always try to one up me, but you also let me take care of you whenever you’re upset. Because thinking of you puts a smile on my face and my heart races whenever I think of seeing you again. And because I’m really hoping you feel the same way about me.”

“I do,” Gideon admitted quietly, nodding her head against Rip’s. She put her hands on his cheeks, stroking his beard, “I usually hate it whenever people try to give me hugs, but I love it when it’s you. I can’t stand the idea of you being affectionate with another woman, of falling for someone that’s not me. Whenever I’m around you I get goosebumps and butterflies in my stomach and all the jittery feelings of being happy. Being around you makes me really happy.”

“Okay then,” Rip smiled, “So, will you have dinner with me?”

“Yes. Of course I will,” Gideon smiled back, her eyes dancing with joy.

“It’s a date then,” Rip bent down and sealed the deal with a kiss.

* * *

 

Rip barely had his hand up to knock on the door when it suddenly opened. Gideon looked at him with a slightly embarrassed look.

“I might have been waiting and heard you coming and gotten a bit overexcited,” she smiled nervously.

“Better than not being excited at all,” Rip commented. He held out a present for her, “For you.”

“Chocolates?” Gideon raised an eyebrow as she took the box from him.

“Any other first date would have gotten flowers, but I thought that probably wouldn’t have been the best idea.”

“Probably right. You didn’t buy anything for your other dates.”

Rip shrugged, “To be fair, I didn’t actually want to be on any of them. I want to be here.” Gideon blushed and looked away. She ducked into her apartment to put the chocolates on the table; otherwise, she would eat them all before they even got to dinner. When she came back out, she locked the door and turned around to see Rip staring at her.

“You look really, really beautiful. I mean you always do, but it’s true,” Rip stood awkwardly with his hands in his pockets as he shifted his weight from side to side. It was the first time Gideon had ever seen him properly nervous. Gideon looked over her ensemble: she had her hair down (because she knew he liked playing with it) and had worn a simple black dress with strappy black heels.

Rip gave her another onceover as well and commented, “And you’re wearing heels for me. You hate heels.”

“They’re highly impractical,” Gideon complained before continuing, “But it’s only fair. You’re wearing my suit.”

Gideon looked at him appreciatively in his blue suit. She walked over to him and couldn’t help but play with the buttons and let her hands explore the fabric. Rip just looked at her highly amused.

“I really, really like this suit on you,” Gideon whispered far too closely.

“Knew it was your favourite. You couldn’t keep your hands off of me, still can’t apparently,” Rip teased her as her hands tugged on the lapels of his jacket. Gideon stared at him; she was wearing heels so they were finally about the same height, the perfect position to kiss him properly. So she did. Rip was clearly caught off by surprise as he wobbled a bit, but he easily put his hands on her waist to steady himself.

When Gideon pulled back she apologized, “Sorry. I just really wanted to do that.”

“Don’t apologize. You can kiss me whenever and wherever you like. As much as you like,” Rip responded in a throaty voice.

Gideon held his face in her hands, caressing his beard thoughtfully, “I always sort of wondered what your beard would feel like when kissing you.”

“And?”

“I really like it,” Gideon said. Then she kissed him again to prove her point.

“Good, because if I had to shave it off, that would have been a deal breaker,” Rip joked as they pulled apart, their foreheads resting against each other. Then he pulled away all together and grabbed her by the hand, “Now come on, or we’re going to be late for our date.”

* * *

 

It was clear from the second they sat down that Gideon was uncomfortable. Rip had thought he’d done a good job in picking the restaurant: it was one of the more high-end French cuisine ones because he knew she liked the food. But she was biting her lip and playing her necklace and her eyes kept darting around.

“You okay?” Rip asked offering her a chance to explain herself.

“I’m fine. Why?” Gideon responded curtly.

“You know, if you don’t want to be here, you don’t have to,” Rip reached out to still her hand.

“No. I want to be here,” Gideon squeezed his hand, “I want this date.”

“I didn’t mean the date,” Rip refrained from rolling his eyes, “I already know you like me-”

“Someone’s got a big ego, don’t they?” Gideon teased.

“Only because it’s true. We established it already, didn’t we? When we kissed? Multiple times?” Rip could see Gideon looking down which meant she was blushing. He wished he could see it in the dim lighting, “Anyways, I meant the restaurant. We can leave if you want to.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m fine,” Gideon stopped lying when she saw the stern look on Rip’s face. She imagined Jonas got away with nothing around him, “It’s just really quiet. And fancy. And I just don’t really do well with all of this.”

“Really? Half the dates you set up for me were in places like this. Always assumed you liked it,” Rip frowned.

“Well I don’t date much, do I? I didn’t realize it would be like this. Honestly, I think I’m starting to understand why none of your previous dates worked out,” Gideon muttered as she took a sip of her water.

“Here’s an idea, how about we stop talking about previous dates you set me up on? On our date. It’s just weird.”

Gideon was about to say something when her cellphone buzzed. She gave Rip a guilty look who simply waved her to answer it. She pulled it out of her purse and frowned at it.

“It’s Sara.”

“Don’t answer that!” Rip said sharply.

“But what if something’s wrong with Jonas? Why isn’t she calling you?” Gideon asked worriedly.

“Jonas is fine. If it were a real emergency, Kendra would be calling me. And I might have blocked everyone temporarily except for Kendra,” Rip explained off-handedly.

“And why would you do that?” Gideon questioned.

“They might not know the entire story about how we ended up here. I just sort of told them I had a date with you, without explaining. They’ve been rather insufferable since.”

“Why not just tell them?”

“I was going to. But then they all just sort of clamored on me and started pestering me. It seemed easier to just not. And more fun anyways.”

“Rip.”

Rip sent her a mischievous look, “I’m a single dad. It’s not like I get to go out much and live it up like the rest of my friends. Messing with them is one of the few hobbies I have left for myself. Let me keep it.” Gideon shook her head at him in exasperation but dropped the call.

“Have we decided on a wine or any appetizers for tonight?” the waiter came by and asked them.

Rip looked at Gideon who suddenly looked like a deer in headlights, her hands clenching her phone tightly.

“Um,” Gideon answered looking to Rip for help as she bit her lip.

“Actually I’m afraid we can’t stay,” Rip said as he got up from his seat, “Just got a call from the babysitter, my son is terribly ill. She’s actually panicking quite a bit, won’t stop calling.” Sure enough at that moment, Gideon’s phone started buzzing again. Rip looked at the waiter apologetically, “And that would be her again. So sorry, but we really must go.”

Rip pulled Gideon out of her seat and kept one hand on her back as he gently pushed her towards the exit. Gideon allowed Rip to pilot her as they weaved through the tables, past the front desk and finally out the door. They stood there for a second staring at each other before they both broke down laughing.

“I think we’re making a reputation for ourselves with our emergency escapes from these restaurants,” Gideon said.

“Well at least I had a better excuse. A believable one. Sister going into labor?” Rip teased her.

“Shut up,” Gideon argued playfully. Once she calmed down, she said, “And thank you. Sorry. I just couldn’t handle it in there. But what exactly are we supposed to do now?”

“Oh don’t worry. I’ve got another idea,” Rip began walking ahead of her. He turned back when he saw Gideon still standing, “Come on. Get in the car. We’re going places.”

* * *

 

“The park? We drove around all around town and we’re stopping in a park?”

“Yes. Because I know you,” Rip said as he settled them down on the bench, “And I know you love Big Belly Burger and their milkshakes.” He shook the takeout bag they had gotten from the drive thru. “And I know you love ice cream.” He pulled out the ice cream container they had stopped to get from the ice cream place. “And I know you like the peace and quiet and no one around.” Rip spread his arms to show the emptiness of the park at night. “So, good?”

“Perfect, actually,” Gideon admitted as she began eating her food, “Should I feel guilty that we turned down a really fancy restaurant for this?”

“Don’t know why. This is much more us. Besides we’ll have plenty of time for other dates at fancy restaurants, let’s just enjoy our first one properly, shall we?”

Gideon nodded silently. Rip gave her a few more moments before realizing something was bothering her again, “What is it?”

“Do you think there’s any point to it?”

“Point to what?” he asked confused.

“This. Us. Dating,” Gideon gestured between them, “I mean if we’re going to break up anyways-”

“You don’t know the future. No one does,” Rip stopped her as he focused on a tree in the distance. Gideon saw the clench of his jaw and rested a hand on his cheek until he turned back to her.

“I know that. But I also know me. And at some point or another, things just end for me. People leave.”

“Ray didn’t leave you. Neither did Felicity. Stop assuming that I will,” Rip placed a hand on hers.

“Neither of them are romantic relationships though,” Gideon pointed out, “Look all of my previous relationships fell apart. Because I’m a workaholic, Because I’m not good at saying what’s on my mind and I’m really not good with emotions.”

“Well, I’m the father of an eleven year old. And he always comes first to me. Which means I’m probably going to blow off dates, and reschedule and be stressed half the time. And it’s probably going to be a long time until we get to have sex because I can’t just spend the night out or invite you over.”

“I already knew all of that though,” Gideon frowned, “And it’s not like I was expecting anything, anyways.”

“Exactly,” Rip reached out and stroked her arm, “And I already know all that about you. I know it, Gideon. I know what I’m getting myself into.”

“But what if-”

“Look, I wish I could tell you that this is it. That now that we’re here, we get our happily ever after,” Rip cupped her cheek with his other hand, “But I’ve already thought that before and it ended in a divorce. I don’t know if we’ll end up married one day, old and grey. Or if we’ll break up in a month. I can’t give you a guarantee. It’s going to be hard at times. I’m going to have Jonas to deal with and you’re going to work too much. We’ll undoubtedly get into arguments. I’ll yell and you’ll ignore me until we finally make up. And sometimes it’s going to hurt a lot. I can’t promise you a happily ever after. But I can promise that I’ll try. That I want to try. And that is something I haven’t felt in a really, really long time. For anyone. Is that okay?”

Gideon gave him a small nod, a small frown still on her face. So Rip leaned in and kissed her until it disappeared. He pulled away slowly, still close enough that he could brush his lips against hers again if he leaned in a bit, “I’m willing to try if you are too.” Rip let the unsaid question hang in the air. Gideon stared at him a long time after pulling away.

“Stevenson.”

“What?” Rip frowned at her.

“Stevenson,” Gideon repeated, “It’s my last name. No middle name. I wasn’t given one and I didn’t feel like picking one. Gideon Stevenson.”

“Why Stevenson?”

“It was assigned. Though I did get a bit of a choice. There was a nice foster family, the Stevens. In the end, they didn’t want me either. But they were probably one of my favourites anyways. Stevenson seemed like a fair compromise. Still don’t particularly like it though. It’s not me.” Gideon looked forward avoiding his gaze.

Rip played with her hair as he stared at her profile before answering, “My birth name is Michael.”

That made Gideon turn to him, “What?”

“Michael. It’s my birth name, technically speaking. Though my mother allowed me to change it legally to Rip. Not that it stops her from calling me Michael when she’s annoyed with me.”

“Why did you change it?”

“Because it wasn’t me,” Rip answered her, “The one thing that I know about my father is that his name was also Michael. And I didn’t want to be associated with that name. So I changed it.”

“So I’m just Gideon. And you’re Rip,” Gideon said quietly.

“It would seem so,” Rip squeezed her hand. Then he got up and threw away the trash from their meal. He looked back at her, “Think you’re up for a walk?”

Gideon looked at him and then down at her heels and back at him, “Normally I’d say yes. But not in these shoes.”

“Fair enough. Let’s get you home then,” Rip held out a hand to help her up.

“Oh, okay then,” Gideon said disappointedly as she let herself be pulled up.

Rip laughed as he pulled her towards him, arms around her waist as always, “I said I’m taking you home. I never said anything about leaving you just yet.” Gideon smiled at that and let him kiss her again.

* * *

 

“Home sweet home,” Gideon sang as they entered her apartment. Rip laughed at her as he leaned against the closed door.

“Take of your shoes. I know you’re dying to get out of them.” He held out a hand for her to hold on to and keep herself steady as she pulled off her heels.

“Thanks.”

“Of course. Think I can take of the jacket at least?” Rip asked.

Gideon whined as she looked at him, “But you look so good in it. Fine.”

“Decent?” he asked as he shrugged off the jacket and rolled up his sleeves.

Gideon walked over and loosened his tie for him before he took it off all together, so Gideon undid the top few buttons. She looked up at him, “Good enough, I suppose.” Rip kissed her for that.

“How long can you stay for?” Gideon asked quietly as she pulled away.

Rip looked at his watch, “I’ve got about another hour or so. I might be able to stretch it. It’s not like I’m in any rush to go home and face the Spanish Inquisition.” He pulled her tighter in his arms.

“What, they’re all waiting at your house?” Gideon laughed.

“You’ve met my friends. They live there more than I do. I’m considering having them pay rent,” Rip told her quite seriously.

Gideon laughed as she stepped back, hands still lingering on his arms, “Alright then. If you have some time then we can watch something?”

“Or have the TV on and not really watch it,” Rip suggested instead. He watched Gideon blush and duck her head as she sat on the couch.

“Or that too,” she said coyly.

Rip walked over and sat down next to her. Gideon turned on the television with the volume on low. Rip had put his arm around her and was combing through her hair with his fingers. When she turned to him, he was watching at her intently.

“What?”

“I have a question for you.”

“Normally that’s my line, but alright,” Gideon allowed.

“When did you first start liking me?”

“What?”

“You heard me. Oh don’t look away, we’ve already established that you like me, and I really like you back. I just want to know since when.”

“I don’t know,” Gideon stared straight at the TV, “I’m not that good at deciphering my own feelings.”

“What, even with your multiple degrees and high IQ?” Rip teased.

Gideon glared at him before continuing, “Yes, even with that. I think I really noticed with Lucy. She kissed you, and you let her. And I hated it. I was terribly jealous.”

“Really?” Rip gave her a funny look, “You kept pushing me to be with her, though. It’s probably the only reason I was with her as long as I was.”

“I was your matchmaker. It was my job. And then I realized I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t watch you be with another women, kissing her. Not when I wanted it to be me.”

Rip kissed her quickly and then said, “Well you’re the only person I’m kissing now. So you got jealous and decided to drop me without another word and returned the money.”

“Yes,” Gideon said quietly, feeling slightly ashamed of that.

“You should have kept it. You kept your promise. You found me someone in six months. Would have been a lot faster if you’d just looked in a mirror,” Rip teased her.

“No. I wouldn’t keep the money. It would just feel like I was holding it over your head to keep you dating me,” Gideon admitted.

“Never,” Rip told her seriously, “As it is. It’s probably best you dropped me. Otherwise I wouldn’t have figured out my own feelings for you.”

“And when did you start liking me, Mr. Hunter?” Gideon put her chin in her hand as she looked at him impishly.

“I’m really not sure. It was such a gradual thing I honestly don’t know if I can pinpoint it. I know that I hated the thought of losing you. After you dropped me, I was hurt and angry. And I’m terribly selfish of your time, I want you all to myself,” Rip pulled her closer to his side, “I hated it when Eddie came into the picture.”

“You were jealous of Eddie?” Gideon asked, “I think I only started dating him because you were dating Lucy and I needed something to keep my mind off of it.”

“To be fair, I’m easily jealous. Hell, I was jealous of Ray, remember?”

“Ray? Seriously?”

Rip shrugged, “I thought the two of you were together. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

“Obviously,” Gideon rested her head on his chest as she played with his buttons. She admitted, “I was jealous of Miranda.”

“Really? Why?”

Gideon shrugged, not looking at him, “You two are incredibly close. All the laughter, inside jokes, you two get along great.”

Rip squeezed her arm, “We were just together for a long time. That’s all. There’s nothing more there.” He frowned to himself, “Actually, I think she might have realized how I felt for you before I did.” He remembered all the looks he had gotten from his friends over the past few months and their questions about him and Gideon, “I think they all did!”

Gideon didn’t seem to find it that surprising though. She lazily informed him, “So did Ray. And probably Felicity. I’m sure all our friends caught on before we did. We were just idiots apparently.”

“Why is that?”

Gideon sat up properly and looked at him, “Does it occur to you that we’ve basically been dating for the past six months without realizing it?”

“Why would you say-”

“We’ve been out to dinner before. And lunch. And coffee. You can’t keep your hands off of me half the time. And I met your son already. Of course they all knew.”

“We’ve been dating for the past six months,” Rip repeated with wide eyes.

“It would seem so,” Gideon agreed.

“Well I suppose that means the pressure is at least off for this as our first date, since that’s already over with,” Rip joked.

“And what would that be?” Gideon asked.

Rip thought back, “Dinner at Belly Burger? That one date that went terribly?”

“If we’re doing it by meal then why not just say the first time we met? I took you out to lunch, remember?”

Rip rolled his eyes, “How could I forget? You were a force of nature to handle, with all your nonstop questions. Still are,” he looked at her softly, “Alright then. What would you say was our first date?”

Gideon played with his hands as she thought. Finally, she spoke, “That night at the museum. You took me to see the exhibit. Just the two of us. I think it was the first time we were together because we wanted to be and not out of necessity. I think it was the first time I felt truly attracted to you, butterflies in my stomach and all. I remember thinking it was beautiful and that I wanted to stay in your arms for as long as I could.”

“That was a while ago,” Rip commented softly, “You still feel that way now?” Gideon nodded silently as Rip moved forward and kissed her softly, “Good. I like you here.”

“Do you think we’ll last?” Gideon asked fearfully.

“If we both want to, and we’re willing to try,” Rip repeated his words from earlier that night.

“I want to. But I’m still scared it’s going to break my heart,” Gideon admitted.

“I’m right there with you,” Rip interlocked their hands as he pushed her back slowly on the couch, “But I’m really happy right now. And I want that to last.”

“I do too,” Gideon said quietly from underneath him.

“Good. I still have some time. And this show is getting boring anyways. I can think of much better uses of our time.” He grinned wickedly at her as he kissed her swiftly. He could feel Gideon still slightly stiff underneath him.

“Look, could you overthink this at another time? I’m a little busy here,” Rip told her as he kissed down her neck.

“So sorry to be a nuisance,” Gideon snorted at him.

“You should be,” Rip kissed her on the lips to silence her, “Stop worrying so much. And stop being so afraid of being happy. Stop sabotaging us before we’ve even started.”

“I know, I know,” Gideon admitted quietly, “I think it’s just going to take me some time. I don’t know how long. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, I understand. Besides, I’ll make you believe me soon enough,” Rip answered easily.

“Oh will you now?” Gideon laughed with a challenge in her eyes.

“Of course I will,” Rip answered cockily. He leaned down to silence her laughter with another kiss, “Just give me six months.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I counted, it took nearly 71K words for them to finally kiss, so I think I fullfilled the requirements of this being a slowburn?
> 
> Thank you all so much for the encouragement and reviews and love on this fic! I hope the last chapter did this fic justice.
> 
> But it's not quite over just yet. Before I call this complete, I want to post an epilogue. So do you guys want the immediate aftermath of the first date, long term ending, or just a bunch of scenes covering the big relationship milestones? Leave a comment and let me know.
> 
> Kudos/review with any thoughts/comments/concerns/suggestions? Thanks!!


	8. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their happily ever after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went with the milestones. I was determined to get this up today since it's my birthday and it seems like the perfect time to finish my first multichap story ever.
> 
> This is all just a bunch of Rip/Gideon scenes throughout the years. I meant to put in other characters, but they really don't show up all that much.
> 
> Hope you enjoy the end anyways!

“You are all early for once, get out of my house!”

No one listened to Rip and simply shoved him aside – in his own house! – and walked right in. Even Felicity and Iris, who were usually better behaved – didn’t spare him a second glance. Rip waited until everyone – meaning everyone – settled down in the living room before sighing.

Laurel started, “So, is there anything you two want to tell us?”

“Like what?” Rip asked stubbornly.

“Like how and when you two ended up together? Curious minds want to know,” Ray explained. Rip changed his mind about that man; he was hardly as innocent as he looked.

“Curiosity killed the cat,” Gideon informed Ray from beside Rip.

“And satisfaction brought him back,” Felicity quipped, “Come on we all want to know!”

“I was planning on telling Jonas first. Seeing as he is my son, and he deserves to know first,” Rip grumbled.

“Jonas is right here with us,” Leonard pointed out, an arm around the boy, “Stop using the single father excuse and get on with it!”

“I’m so confused,” Jonas complained.

Rip smiled at his son, the only thing to keep him sane. He held out a hand for Jonas to come join him and Gideon. Once Jonas came over, Rip explained (to only his son because only he mattered), “Gideon and I are dating now. Is that okay?”

Jonas frowned, “But none of your dates last.”

Rip could hear Sara laughing in the background and focused his attention on his son, “Well yes. But, none of them were Gideon, to be fair. It’ll be different this time.”

“How?”

“Well she’ll be around more. And we’ll be going out to dinner. And there’s game nights. And-”

“So nothing changes?” Jonas asked. Behind him Laurel had to silence Sara’s laughing fit.

“Yeah, nothing changes I guess,” Rip shot Gideon a look. Apparently they had been rather oblivious for the past six months.

“So are you alright with this?” Gideon asked Jonas somewhat timidly. If Jonas didn’t accept them, then there was no point in trying to move forward.

Jonas grinned at her, “Sure. Besides, this means you get to be on my team for game nights now!”

“Wait what?” Rip questioned.

“He’s right. Rules are rules,” Thea said, “Romantic relationships can’t play on the same team.”

“Is it too late to break up?” Rip joked with Gideon.

Gideon laughed and kissed him, his arm lingering on her waist, “Afraid so. Sorry, you’re stuck with me.”

“Good,” Rip replied.

“Seriously? Are you two going to be like this the entire time now?” Sara gagged.

“What like before was any worse?” Iris asked with a smile on her face.

“We still have terrible friends though,” Rip muttered at Gideon before pressing a kiss to her hair.

Jonas frowned, “Wait, does this mean I have to give up my money?”

“What?” Rip asked. Around the room everyone was looking at each other wide-eyed guiltily. Rip repeated himself, “What is he talking about?”

“Well you see the thing is, that um, well-” Felicity stuttered.

Gideon stared at them all in disbelief, “Oh my god. You all had a betting pool on us, didn’t you?”

“Maybe?” Ray said weakly.

“Who’s idea was that exactly?” Rip asked tightly.

Everyone looked at each other shiftily, no one willing to take the blame. Finally, Lisa got tired of it all and blurted out, “Kendra started it!”

“Traitor!” Kendra yelled back.

“Kendra?” Rip looked at her in betrayal, “But you were supposed to be the good one!”

“I still am,” Kendra defended herself, “But it was just so obvious! And when everyone started catching on, we figured why not? Besides, I won. So fork it over, losers!”

Rip had never seen the young woman act this way, “From my son too?!”

“Look, it was only like five dollars. Relax. We’re teaching him a life lesson. Never bet big unless he’s sure he’s gonna win. Wise words for when he undoubtedly ends up in Vegas someday,” Leonard calmed him. Not that it was helping much.

Rip pulled his son towards him to protect him from the craziness of his friends. He turned to Gideon, “I think we need new friends.”

“No Dad. We all have to go trick-or-treating tomorrow. Gideon, you’re coming too, right?”

“Oh well I – I suppose I can. If it’s alright with you,” Gideon looked from father to son somewhat unsurely.

“Of course it’s alright,” Rip kissed her again. There was already groaning in the background. Rip couldn’t care less. If they betted on them, they could put up with the PDA.

“Awesome!” Ray said as Lily nodded next to him, “We’ll all join. I have the perfect cowboy costume. It’s gonna rock!” Gideon giggled at her friend’s childishness, knowing full well somehow he’d get her to wear a matching costume.

“Awesome,” Jonas agreed as he sat down on the couch next to his dad and Gideon, “I’m going as a cyborg. Gideon and Kendra helped me make it. And Dad’s going as a pirate!”

“A pirate?” Gideon asked him.

“It’s a classic,” Rip shrugged, “Now then, game night anyone? Now that we’re done with the grilling?”

“Not even close!” Sara yelled while Lisa started screaming about game night, she always did get a little overexcited.

“Very well then. Aye aye, Captain Hunter,” Gideon mockingly saluted him. Rip raised an eyebrow at her before laughing and pulling her into her arms. The perfect place for her to stay.

* * *

 

“Stop freaking out,” Rip ordered.

“I’m not freaking out. I’m not,” Gideon denied, “I’m just you know-”

“Freaking out?” Miranda asked.

“Okay slightly,” Gideon admitted, “But it’s Christmas. With your mother! What if she hates me?”

“Impossible,” Rip waved off.

“Mary loves everyone. She’s a mother hen, strict as she may be. Besides, you’re not the one that ruined Thanksgiving, I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Miranda assured her.

“Thanks,” Gideon shot her a grateful smile as Rip soothingly rubbed circles into her back.

“Should I be worried that you two get along so well? I don’t think this normally happens, why can’t we be a normal family?” Rip questioned aloud.

“It was your brilliant idea to celebrate Christmas with your ex-wife and your new girlfriend,” Miranda pointed out.

“For Jonas. I’m doing it for Jonas,” Rip corrected as he looked at his son, currently clinging to his mother’s side.

“Still, your idea. Besides, I’m just glad you two finally got your acts together and figured it out.”

“With no help from you,” Rip shot back.

“I’m your ex-wife. I thought I wasn’t supposed to have any input in your love life anymore?” Miranda repeated his words to him. Rip chose not to argue with her on that point, he would lose anyways. Gideon would probably take her side. It was just his luck.

Just then the doorbell rang and Jonas jumped up yelling “Grandma!” Rip rolled his eyes and followed his overexcited son to meet his mother at the door. Gideon meanwhile went back to fiddling with her phone and avoiding eye contact. She wasn’t particularly religious but she was always welcome at the Stein’s or Felicity’s for Hanukah and before Ray got married, the two of them would usually do something together. But now, Ray and Lily were on vacation as a married couple. So Rip had taken her in for the holidays, which meant spending Christmas with him, his son, his ex-wife and his mother.

Miranda noticed Gideon fidgeting and took her hand to pull her off the couch, “You’ll want to be standing when you meet her. She’s quite nice, but she’s a stickler for first impressions.” Gideon’s eyes widened even more at that, Miranda simply laughed at her reaction and patted her arm reassuringly.

“Mother, Miranda,” Rip came in then with his mother. He waited for the two to hug and wrapped an arm around Gideon’s waist again, “And this is my girlfriend, Gideon.” He really loved using that title for her.

“Hello, Mrs-”

“Oh pish posh, you can call me Mary,” Rip’s mother pulled Gideon into a hug, at which she barely squirmed, she was learning so well. As she pulled away she admonished her son, “Honesty Michael, haven’t you told her formalities aren’t required?”

Rip rolled his eyes, “I’ve tried, Mother. She still calls me Mr. Hunter half the time!” Gideon blushed and Rip pulled her back to his side.

The day went on easily with Rip and his mother cooking up a storm in the kitchen. Miranda spent time with Jonas and Gideon flitted around somewhat awkwardly despite both parties assuring her she could stay with them. But she didn’t want to interrupt either reunion. At some point Rip got fed up with it all and put Gideon to work in the kitchen, ignoring the fearful look in her eyes. She didn’t want to be the one to ruin Christmas Dinner! But it wasn’t ruined (thankfully) and according to Mary nothing could be worse than the infamous Thanksgiving dinner anyways.

Gideon managed to get a laugh out of Mary and her approval when she finally relaxed at dinner time and scolded Rip as she normally did. Mary simply nodded and applauded Gideon for looking after Rip properly. After the dinner, Gideon insisted on cleaning up in the kitchen while the other women and Jonas retired to the living room to play board games and listen to Christmas music. Rip joined her in the kitchen to finish the baking he and Jonas had started in the afternoon.

Rip put in the last batch of cookies in the oven before joining Gideon at the sink. He wrapped his arms from behind her and murmured in her ear, “See? She loves you. There was nothing to worry about at all.”

Gideon leaned back against him and hummed, “I suppose. Still, she’s your mother, I wanted everything to go properly. It’s important and-”

“And it did. So stop fretting anymore, okay?” Rip asked. Gideon sighed and turned around properly in his arms to face him. She rested her forehead against his and begrudgingly agreed.

“Good. Now then, there’s one more tradition left.” Gideon looked at Rip and saw his arm stretched out above their heads, mistletoe hanging from his hand.

Gideon laughed, “Since when do you need mistletoe for me to kiss you?”

“Gideon, it’s tradition,” Rip playfully admonished her. Gideon laughed some more before leaning in to kiss him properly.

“Merry Christmas, Rip,” she smiled at him as she leaned away, playing with the collar of his shirt.

“Merry Christmas indeed,” Rip agreed before kissing her again.

* * *

 

“Come on in,” Rip ushered as he held the door open for Gideon.

Gideon looked around, “Your house is actually empty for once. It’s rather alarming.”

“For you and me both,” Rip agreed as he closed the door and pulled her into his arms, “But Jonas is at a sleepover tonight. Don’t look so surprised! He does have friends his own age.”

“I wasn’t giving you any look,” Gideon argued.

“Sure you weren’t. Anyways, Jonas is gone. Which means no need for friends to be taking up residence at my house,” Rip kissed her.

“Well how nice,” Gideon whispered.

“Yeah. My house is actually empty for once. And you’re here. And I was thinking, that maybe you could stay the night?” Rip asked softly. He leaned in to kiss her again, ready to push her against the door, but he felt her stiffen immediately in his arms. Worriedly he pulled back, “Gideon?”

Gideon stared at him, barely managing to stutter, “Um, yes. Sure. I mean um.” Rip stared at her unsure face, she was biting her lip and avoiding eye contact, her hands were focused on the buttons of his shirt. Rip sighed and stroked a hand through her hair, “Alright then. Come on.”

Gideon frowned as she realized where Rip was leading her, “Rip? Shouldn’t we, I mean the bedroom is upstairs. Why are we in the kitchen?”

“We’re baking,” Rip answered easily as he pulled out the bowls and ingredients. Gideon stood in confusion as she watched Rip move around in the kitchen. He laughed he looked at her and gestured her to join him, “Don’t just stand there. Help out.”

Gideon shuffled next to him and began measuring the amounts as Rip directed her to. They worked in silence save for directions and questions related to the recipe. Finally Gideon had enough, “Why are we baking?”

“Because it normally helps me work through whatever I’m feeling until I’m ready to talk about it. It’s a nice stress reliever. I know you’d rather be on your laptop or playing with your phone, but this is what I do. And I’m hoping it works for you too,” Rip eyed her knowingly.

Gideon looked down guiltily before muttering quietly, “It’s not that I don’t want to have sex with you. I – I do, I just, I’m not quite sure, I mean,”

Rip gathered her in his arms, his hand going to lift her chin to look at him, “It’s alright if you don’t want to. That’s fine. We can just bake and watch a movie and just sleep. Or I can drop you off at your place if you don’t want to spend the night. It’s fine.”

“This is my longest relationship,” Gideon admitted, “I don’t want to do anything that would ruin-”

“Gideon, if you think I’m going to leave you over something like this, I swear,” Rip trailed off, trying his best to control his fiery temper.

“I know. I know that. I just also know how my relationships in the past have gone and-”

“And I’m not one of them,” Rip reiterated. He turned away to put the brownie batter into the oven. Gideon continued to fidget with her hands.

“I know you’re not. I know that. But, when do we ever get a free night to ourselves?” Gideon asked, “And what if we don’t get another one in a long time. And what if I’m still not ready then and you decide-”

“I’m not going to decide anything,” Rip grabbed her hands and then cupped her face, anything to keep her in his grasp, “If by some chance we break up. It will not be because I’m not having sex with you. Don’t be stupid. I – you’re important to me. So we don’t have sex tonight. That’s fine. There will be other nights, of that I’m sure. And if you still aren’t ready then we won’t do anything. It’s that simple. But I’m not going to pressure you into something you don’t want. Or make you do something you’re not ready for.”

“Thank you,” Gideon said quietly.

Rip snorted, “Basic human decency is not something you should have to thank me for. Now, what would you like to do tonight?” He pulled away from her to give her some space to decide.

Gideon looked down as she asked, “Can we watch a movie? A romcom?”

Rip nodded, “Alright then. Would you like to go turn on the TV? I’ll just clean up a bit in here.”

Gideon nodded. Rip turned away and began putting things into the sink. He didn’t hear any footsteps walking away and turned back to see Gideon still standing there, biting her lip and playing with a dirty spoon.

“What’s wrong?” he asked again.

“I just – are you angry with me?” Gideon asked. Seeing Rip beginning to frown she quickly clarified, “Not for not wanting sex, just for being stupid.”

“Of course not, why would I be?” Rip asked incredulously.

“Oh well. Okay,” Gideon made to turn away but Rip grabbed her in his arms.

“What do you need?” he searched her face to understand what she was feeling.

“It’s just you didn’t kiss me and I-” Rip silenced whatever explanation she had with a kiss.

“I’ll kiss you whenever and however often as you like. I’m not mad in the slightest, I promise.”

“Okay, good,” Gideon smiled finally believing him. She leaned in to kiss him again but forgot about the spoon in her hand. It hit Rip’s chest and got brownie batter all over his shirt. Gideon covered her mouth taking a step back, “Oh my god. Rip I’m so sorr-” Rip didn’t pay attention, simply wrapped his arms around her for a tight hug. Gideon’s shrieks and laughter echoed in the kitchen as the batter got stuck to her dress as well.

She collapsed against him still laughing, Rip happily holding her as he quietly asked, “So, are we good?”

Gideon buried her face into his shoulder, “Yeah, we’re great.”

* * *

 

“Oh no. Dad, I think I broke Gideon,” Jonas pulled his arms away from the woman he was hugging. Gideon was still standing as still as a cardboard. Rip laughed at the sight of the two of them, especially Gideon.

“Yes it would seem so,” Rip teased. He walked over and knocked on the side of Gideon’s head, “Hello? Anybody still in there?”

Gideon shoved his hand away, “Shut up. I’m fine,” she turned to Jonas and stuttered, “Yes. Thank you for that. Thanks.” Jonas shook his head but grinned at her before heading upstairs. Gideon was still frozen in place. Rip sighed, wrapped his arms from behind her and hooked his chin on her shoulder.

“You gonna be like this all day now? I do need help making dinner you know?” Rip informed her.

“Not like I’m any good at cooking anyways,” Gideon dismissed. Then she got to the matter at hand, “He said he loved me. He’s never said that before. He – did he mean it?”

“Jonas isn’t the type of boy to say something he doesn’t mean,” Rip said strongly. He and Miranda had raised Jonas better than that. To always say what he meant and keep his promises. “If he said it, he means it.”

“Right, that was really nice of him,” Gideon smiled as she leaned against Rip, her hands covering his.

“Mmhmm,” Rip murmured as he kissed up the side of her neck, stopping just behind her ear making Gideon giggle. He pulled away slightly, still holding her, “I love you too by the way.” His voice was nonchalant, he didn’t want to make such a big deal out of it; of course he loved Gideon. He had for a while now; just never said it out loud before. He was fairly certain Gideon could still feel the rapidness of his heartbeat anyways.

Gideon stopped playing with Rip’s hands and quietly asked, “When you say ‘too’, do you mean ‘in addition’ or ‘in reciprocation’?”

“That depends, is it reciprocated?” Rip asked quietly, his hands tightening around her. Gideon nodded mutely. “Then I want to hear you say it, please.”

“I love you too,” Gideon whispered. She turned slightly in his arms, her hand coming to rest on his cheek, “I have for a very long time now.” Rip nodded, he should have assumed so. Gideon felt so much and still kept it all to herself. Of course she would have waited on Rip before admitting her own feelings. He almost wished he had said it earlier.

“Okay, good,” he leaned in for another kiss when Gideon suddenly pulled out of his arms.

“I didn’t tell Jonas I loved him!” she said in terror.

“What?” Rip asked dumbly.

“Well he said he loved me and I didn’t respond. Oh no! Do you think it’s too late?”

“Too late for what?” Rip couldn’t quite keep up with her thought process.

“To tell him I love him!” Gideon rolled her eyes at him.

“You love him?” Rip repeated.

“Of course I do, don’t be stupid,” Gideon dismissed his questions. She patted his shoulder, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek as she walked out, “I’m going to go tell him, okay.”

Rip nodded silently as he watched her walk away. At the very least, at least Gideon was never afraid of telling Jonas how she felt. That thought alone, more than anything else, made Rip smile.

* * *

 

“Jonas, hurry it up or we’re going to be late. And then you know Sara will never let it go!” Rip yelled at his son as he went to answer the door.

“Hi! Sorry! Sorry! I’m late, aren’t I?” Gideon gushed. Rip pulled her into the house and silenced her with a kiss, “Don’t be silly. You’re right on time.”

“How come I’m late but she’s on time?” Jonas complained as he walked by.

Rip turned around and gave his son a stern look, “Because she’s here, dressed properly and ready. You still have to finish.”

“But I don’t even like the suit!” Jonas whined.

“Neither do I. Unfortunately, neither of us get a choice. It’s Len and Sara’s day, so they decide what we wear. Be glad it’s just the suit. Now get ready. Your mum’s going to be here soon too,” Rip urged his son. Jonas grumbled some more but made his way up the stairs. Rip sighed and leaned against the wall. Gideon walked up to him and placed her hands on his shoulders, leaning in to kiss him.

Rip frowned as she pulled away, “You’re taller than usual. You’re wearing heels.”

“Of course I am. It’s a wedding, a special occasion. Besides, you’re wearing a suit anyways,” Gideon brushed it off.

“Yeah. I’m really glad you’re my date by the way,” Rip smiled as he pulled her in.

Gideon laughed, “You’re so cheesy sometimes.”

“It’s true though. I’m glad you’re here. With me,” Rip said quite seriously.

Gideon leaned against him, “Me too. I am sorry I’m late though. Didn’t mean to be, just sort of happened.” Rip was about to respond when the smoke detector went off.

“My cookies!” Rip ran into the kitchen to take out his tray while Gideon dealt with disabling the smoke detector. “Damn! Well, I suppose most of them are salvageable anyways. I’ll just bury the more burnt ones at the bottom. No time to start a new batch.”

“Why are you making cookies at this time anyways? We have to leave soon,” Gideon reminded him with a bemused look.

“Yes. But it’s Sara. And she insists that freshly baked homemade cookies are the only acceptable wedding present from me. So here we are,” Rip opened his arms to show off the kitchen, “I went to answer the door and then I completely forgot about them. You’re a terrible distraction.”

“Sorry, don’t mean to be,” Gideon smiled at him teasingly as she pulled him to her.

“Sure you don’t,” Rip flirted back before kissing her, “Although it does remind me. Wait here a second?” Gideon nodded as Rip left the room for a few minutes before coming back with something in his hand.

“Here,” Rip said as he pressed the cool metal into Gideon’s palm, “House key. For whenever you need it.”

“Rip,” Gideon started, but she had no words to finish it. This was a big deal, sure Rip had people in and out of his house all the time, but he’d never actually given a key to anyone. Leonard just stole them and made his own copies. Kendra always had one when she used to babysit Jonas, but she never used it otherwise.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while now actually,” Rip said somewhat nervously as he ran a hand through his hair, “I just never really got the chance to give it to you. But I want you to have it. I see no reason why you shouldn’t.” He was in this for the long haul, he wanted Gideon to know that. To know how much she meant to him. How much he loved her.

Gideon kissed him, “Thank you. Thank you so much. I love you.”

Rip smiled as he held her, “I love you too. Make sure you use that key. You better.” Gideon simply kissed him again.

* * *

 

“Okay, home sweet home. Jonas it’s late, you should go to bed,” Rip said as they entered the house.

“Or we could watch a movie! The one with the werewolf?” Jonas begged.

“I’m not sure Gideon wants to-”

“It’s fine,” Gideon assured the two of them, “I don’t mind. But your dad is right, you should change into some PJs and then come join us.” Jonas huffed but went upstairs.

“You know you don’t have to agree with everything he wants, right? He already loves you,” Rip told her as they wandered into the living room.

“I know that,” Gideon agreed as they sat down on the couch, “But it’s nearly Halloween. Jonas loves it more than Christmas. It’s fine.”

“Still,” Rip argued, “You already let him come on our date.”

“I love your son,” Gideon reminded him, “Besides, it’s not his fault you forgot. And it was fun. I didn’t want to interrupt your father-son bonding time, so really you let me tag along.”

“You could never interrupt us,” Rip kissed her worries away. At this point, Gideon felt like family, “But you’re right. I have been terribly stressed and busy between work and Jonas.”

“I find it rather impressive that he’s planning on transforming this place into a haunted house for the trick-or-treaters.”

Rip hummed, “His version of giving back. But he wants to surprise his mum when she comes to visit too. And honestly I think he missed having Kendra around all the time, despite being too old for a babysitter. It’s nice that she’s been able to help him out. Still, I’m sorry I forgot our date.”

Gideon nodded and rummaged through her purse, pulling out a nicely wrapped small box, “I think you also forgot the reason for our date. Happy one year.”

“Shit,” Rip responded immediately. His eyes widened and he ran his hand through his hair, “Gideon, I am so sorry. I completely forgot!”

Gideon laughed it off, “I thought you might have. Rip, it’s fine. You’ve been busy-”

“That’s not an excuse,” Rip argued, “You’re always busy with work and you remembered.”

“Yes, but you have Jonas. I don’t really have anyone else outside of you. I mean Ray obviously, but as far as presents go, we don’t really do much anymore. No point when we can both buy whatever we want whenever we want.”

“Still, I should have remembered and-”

“And you’re human,” Gideon placed the present on his lap and grabbed his cheeks to kiss him, “You’re had a lot on your plate. Work, Jonas, besides you remembered my birthday. And I happen to love the earrings, thank you very much.” She loved everything from Rip; she still wore her necklace all the time. So much that the chain had broken and Rip had to replace it. He had insisted he could get her something else, but Gideon was adamant. She loved that necklace.

“Yeah but-”

“If you want to make it up to me, then open your present. Now.” Gideon’s voice left no room for discussion. Rip was about to argue with her but she crossed her arms. He raised his hands in surrender and unwrapped his present.

“A new watch?” Rip asked.

“Yours was wearing out for a while you said,” Gideon said quietly as she tucked her hair behind her ear, “There’s an inscription on the back too. If you want it, or I could return it and-”

“All my love always, Gideon.” Rip read the watch. Immediately he replaced the watch he was currently wearing, “Fits perfectly. I love it. I love you. Thank you.” He kissed her deeply. As he pulled away he promised, “I’ll get you something nice. I will.”

Gideon shook her head, “It’s fine. I don’t need anything more than you and Jonas. And besides,” she shrugged easily, “There will be other anniversaries. Plenty more years to come.”

Rip grinned at her. It was the first time Gideon had so easily made a comment about their future. About how they would be together. He took her hand in his and squeezed it, “Of course there will be.”

* * *

 

Gideon sighed as she opened the door, “Rip.”

“Can I come in?” he asked quietly. Gideon stepped aside and let him walk in. She closed the door and leaned against it, watching Rip awkwardly shifting from one foot to another.

“Why are you here?”

“Because I’m sorry.”

Gideon wrapped her arms around herself; not out of anger, but to keep herself together. She couldn’t handle leaving another conversation in tears, not again.

“Well maybe you were right anyways,” Gideon said quietly.

“I wasn’t,” Rip argued fiercely, “I don’t want to break up with you.”

“Then why did you say it?!” Gideon burst out.

Rip moved forward trying to take her in his arms. Gideon desperately tried to get out of his reach, but Rip didn’t give up that easily.

“Please, just,” Rip pinned her hands to his chest with one hand and used the other to pull her against him, “Because I’m an idiot. And I know this because I’ve been told so multiple times by all our friends. Look, you know how I get when I get angry. I say stupid things that I don’t mean. I didn’t mean it.”

“But you said it,” Gideon’s voice broke and her vision blurred.

Rip swallowed, “Yes. And I would do anything to take that moment back. I didn’t mean it. I was angry. The last time you were angry with me you didn’t talk to me for a week, remember?” Gideon nodded weakly in his arms.

“Look, I want to be with you. I still want to try, if you do too?” Rip pleaded with her.

Gideon stared at him. For the life of her she couldn’t even remember what their fight had been about. Just that it had ended with them screaming at each other. With Rip yelling that they should just break up. He had never done that before, it scared her. If he really felt that way.

“You didn’t mean it?” Gideon asked quietly.

“No. I meant it about as much as Jonas means it when he screams he hates me,” Rip tried to joke with her. Gideon let out half a laugh so Rip continued, “For the record he never means it. He always comes back an hour later and calls me ‘Daddy’ when he apologizes.”

“It took you two days to apologize,” Gideon pointed out.

“My son is much smarter than I am.”

“Clearly gets it from his mother,” Gideon teased. Rip couldn’t care less, as long as the smile stayed on her face. She continued, “I was scared that you meant it. That that was it. You were done with me.”

“No. No, I wouldn’t,” Rip breathed against her. His forehead resting against hers. He desperately wanted to kiss her, but he couldn’t. Not until she forgave him and he had her permission, “I wouldn’t do that to you. I’m so, so sorry Gideon. Forgive me?”

Gideon bit her lip, looking down at his throat where he was swallowing nervously. Silently she nodded. Rip hugged her properly.

“I love you,” she breathed, “Please don’t leave me like that.”

“I won’t,” Rip promised, “I love you too. Don’t ever let me go without a fight. Please.” Gideon hugged him tighter in response.

* * *

 

“He’s now saying he’s getting too old for game night. When will the madness end?” Kendra asked disappointedly.

“Oh come on now, we all knew it would happen eventually,” Rip commiserated with her. He forgot how hard it was on her too sometimes, she had basically helped raise Jonas as well. Kendra sighed and Rip put a comforting arm around her, “At some point, he’ll come back to us. I hope.”

Kendra snorted, “Well that wasn’t very reassuring. Anyways, you need any more help cleaning up?”

“No, I think that’s about it,” Rip looked around. Most of the madness of game night was taken care of, “Thanks for helping out.”

“Of course,” Kendra smiled and kissed him on the cheek, “I’ll let you get back to Gideon.” She grinned at him. Rip rolled his eyes and shooed – walked – her to the door. After locking the door he sighed. Jonas was already in bed most likely, after having bowed out of game night early. It wouldn’t be long until he lost his son all together to the teenage phase. Rip made his way to the living room and found Gideon curled up on the couch.

“Hey you,” Rip cooed as he lifted her head and put it in his lap. He stroked his fingers though her hair as Gideon hummed and curled up closer to him, “Tired?”

“Yeah, it’s been a long week,” Gideon mumbled. Rip nodded, he had barely gotten to see her lately; she was always busy.

“Yeah,” he agreed.

“Can I stay here for the night? I just really don’t feel like going home right now. Don’t really want to be alone. Or drive.” Ray had offered to take her back, but her car was here anyways. And she didn’t want to go back to her empty apartment. There was nothing to keep her there.

“Of course. Half your stuff has basically migrated here anyways,” Rip joked with her. Ever since she started spending the nights more often she always seemed to bring another piece of her life over. Rip loved it.

“Hmm, sorry,” Gideon hummed as she doodled with her finger on Rip’s thigh.

“No need to be sorry. I don’t mind,” Rip swallowed before continuing, “Maybe you should consider just keeping all your stuff here.”

Gideon’s hand froze and she looked up at him. She caught the serious look in his eyes and sat up properly, “Rip?”

“I’m just saying. You could. If you wanted to,” Rip was steadily avoiding eye contact and looked straight ahead.

“Could what?”

“Move in,” Rip shrugged. He still wasn’t looking at her, but his hands were still playing with her hair, “I mean, I know it’s not that big of a house. But we could always share my bedroom. And your work isn’t much further from mine anyways, so you know the commute isn’t that bad.”

“And you’d cook dinner for me every night?” Gideon asked.

“I could make you lunch too if you like,” Rip said easily, his heart hammering the entire time.

“And I could clean. And at the end of the night I could stay with you,” Gideon finished.

“Yeah,” Rip agreed. He finally turned to look at her, “Would that be something you’d be interested in?”

“What does Jonas think?”

“He’d be fine with it. He said so,” Rip assured her, “He loves having you around. And someone to help with his math and science homework. We’ve been together for nearly two years now, he loves you. And so do I. You already have a key to the place, you might as well use it all the time.”

“By moving in.”

“If you want to,” Rip repeated.

Gideon kissed him, “I do.”

* * *

 

“Gideon?”

“Hmm?”

“Are you even paying attention to me?” Rip asked amusedly as he took a seat next to her.

“Sure,” Gideon muttered as she continued to type away at her laptop. Rip looked over at his son and the two shared a look.

“Really? So you’re alright with not having dinner tonight?”

“Sure.”

“Also, Ray called, he won the lottery.”

“Great.”

“You want to get married on Friday?” Rip raised an eyebrow.

“Sounds good.” At that, Jonas couldn’t keep it in anymore and busted out laughing, pretty soon Rip joined in. Gideon finally looked away from her computer.

“What?” she questioned confused.

“Well apparently we’re getting married on Friday,” Rip teased her, “Hope you have a church already booked. And a dress picked out.”

Gideon blushed, “I’m sorry. I wasn’t-”

“Listening? Yeah, I know,” Rip shook his head at her and kissed her soundly. Jonas made a noise of disgust and left the room at that. “There was a time when he could stand to see us together,” Rip mused to himself.

“To be fair, he was younger then. And we didn’t kiss as much in front of him. Didn’t want to ruin his innocence after all,” Gideon reminded him.

“Of course,” Rip agreed. The Talk with his son to this day was not something he could think about properly. Not when Jonas thought about it in relation to Rip and Gideon. No wonder he didn’t want to be around them. Instead he asked, “You nearly done working?”

“Almost,” Gideon finished off with a few more keystrokes and then shouted, “Done! Alright, you now have my full attention.” Gideon shut down her laptop.

“It’s a miracle!” Rip teased before kissing her, “I always want your full attention.” Gideon laughed and let him kiss her some more. Eventually he pulled away, rubbing circles into her hip, a crinkle in his forehead.

“What are you thinking about?” Gideon asked as she smoothed out the worry lines.

“Have you ever considered it?” he asked.

“Considered what?”

“Marriage? More specifically to me,” Rip said.

“I don’t – I don’t know. I never really thought of marriage in general, honestly,” Gideon looked away, “Never really thought I’d make it that far in any relationship.”

“We’ve been together two years now,” Rip pointed out, “Don’t you think we owe ourselves a conversation about this?”

“You’ve been thinking about this for a while,” Gideon realized.

Rip shrugged, “If you’re asking me if I’ve thought of marrying you, then yes.”

“And what would marrying you entail?”

“Oh you know, joint bank accounts. You’d have to do more grocery shopping. Tax breaks,” Rip listed off nonchalantly, “Really the only reason for doing it, honestly.”

“Of course,” Gideon played along, her hand still in his.

“Besides, I’ve always thought if you hate your last name so much, you should change it. Why not to Hunter?” Rip offered.

“Is this you proposing?” Gideon asked worriedly.

“This is me asking if you’d be alright with me proposing. One day.”

“I don’t know,” Gideon admitted honestly.

Rip nodded his heart clenching. He got up from the couch, “Right. Okay, right. I should go start dinner now.” Gideon gave him a few minutes before she followed him into the kitchen. He was cutting vegetables so Gideon wrapped her arms around him, her front to his back.

“You’re upset with me.”

“I’m not upset,” Rip denied, “You don’t want to marry me. That’s fine. Good to know.”

“I said I wasn’t sure. Rip, last I checked you had no plans on getting married again either. I mean you’re already divorced-”

Rip whirled around to face her, “Is that why you don’t want to get married? Because I am divorced? And you think that if we get married it’ll end that way too?”

Gideon stared at his miserable eyes and shook her head. She took his face in her hands, “No. This has nothing to do with that. If I thought you were incapable of love or finding your soulmate again, I would never have even taken you on as a client.”

“Then why not? Because all I can think of is that you think it’s going to end horribly because of me,” Rip said dejectedly.

“I just, I never thought of myself getting married. Or having kids, or any of it. Rip, I never even considered any of those options. I didn’t say no, I just, I don’t know.”

“Well would you consider thinking about it?” Rip asked as he rubbed circles into her hands he was holding, “I mean, we don’t have to get married. Obviously not. I mean, we already live together anyways, not much would change. I just, I would actually really like to call you my wife. One day.”

Gideon’s heart skipped a beat as she leaned in to kiss him. “I’ll think about it,” she promised.

* * *

 

“Hey, Dad said you could use some coffee.” Gideon looked up and found Jonas standing there with a cup of coffee in his hands. Gideon smiled gratefully and took it from him.

“Thank you.”

“Where is everyone?” Jonas asked.

“They’re around,” Gideon waved her hand, “I just – Felicity keeps going on about everything that can go wrong. And I couldn’t stand to hear all that.”

Jonas nodded, “Is Lily going to be alright?”

Gideon nodded, “I’m sure she will be. She just wasn’t supposed to have the baby this early. So everyone’s a bit worried.”

“Will the baby be alright?”

“I hope so.” Gideon couldn’t stand the thought of anything happening to the baby. Lily and Ray would be so devastated.

Jonas squeezed her hand, “Are you excited to be the godmother?”

“I suppose so. I’m not that surprised that they chose me. Though, I have to wonder how clearly they were thinking. Letting a baby around me, I’m terrible with kids.”

“You’re good with me,” Jonas pointed out.

“You’re the exception,” Gideon ruffled his hair. Jonas let it slide since he loved Gideon.

“Hey Gideon?” Jonas asked nervously. Gideon hummed in acknowledgement to Jonas trudged on, “If you and Dad…do you want kids of your own?”

Gideon turned to look at him. The boy – no, teenager at this point – looking back at her nervously.

“I don’t know,” Gideon admitted, “Never really thought of it. I’ve never really seen myself as the maternal type. Besides, I always have you, right?”

“But it’s different. I mean, if you and Dad get married-”

“Who said anything about us getting married?” Gideon stopped him.

“You two have been together forever. Iris and Barry got married. And Oliver and Felicity are engaged. Everyone is getting married except you-”

“Oh so now you’re worried about my cursed life as a spinster?” Gideon joked

“He wants to marry you. Don’t you want to marry him too?” Jonas asked confused. He had always imagined his life with Dad, Mom, Kendra and Gideon. That’s how it worked.

“I don’t – I thought you said you never wanted your dad to get married again?” Gideon asked.

Jonas rolled his eyes, “Gideon, I was like ten the last time I said that. I didn’t know .any better. Besides, all the options at the time was everybody but you!”

“Oh so I’m the only choice you’re okay with your dad marrying?” Gideon joked.

“Exactly,” Jonas nodded seriously. Then he thought about it, “Wait, have you been saying no because of me?”

Gideon looked away and shrugged, “I don’t know. Maybe. I just – look, I know I’m not your mother. Miranda is amazing. I would never try to replace her. But the fact is, you’re probably the closest thing I’ll ever have to a child of my own. I don’t really need any other kids. And I would never want to do anything that could jeopardize our relationship.”

Jonas gave her a hug, “I love you, Gideon.” The best thing about Gideon is that he knew, even if she and his dad didn’t work out, she’d still be around for him.

“I love you too, Jonas,” Gideon smiled at him.

Jonas pulled away, “Look, if you’re saying no because of me, then you have to stop. If you want to say yes, you should. Or at least think about it some more.”

“Thanks,” Gideon nodded. Just then Rip appeared and sat down next to Gideon.

“Hey, you heard anything yet?” Rip asked as he pecked her on the lips.

“Not yet,” Gideon sighed. Rip looked between his son and his girlfriend, suddenly feeling like he had interrupted something.

“What did I miss?” he asked suspiciously.

“Nothing,” Gideon assured. She turned to Jonas and smiled and looked back at Rip, “We were just having a heart to heart, that’s all.”

“About what?”

“About how good the name Gideon Hunter sounds,” Gideon squeezed Rip’s hand.

“Yeah? You think so?” Rip smiled. Gideon nodded and kissed him again.

They waited in silence for a few more hours. Felicity and Oliver wandered back in. Oliver rubbing her shoulders while Felicity babbled on and on. Gideon leaned her head onto Rip’s shoulders trying to block out her voice. Jax walked back in and began pacing back and forth until Nate forced him to sit down. Caitlin and Cisco were keeping themselves occupied with a game of cards that Jonas soon joined in on.

Finally, Ray appeared at the doorway. Gideon immediately stood up. Her eyes focused on the tears in his eyes, but there was also a huge smile on his face.

“I’m a father,” he whispered. There were screams and congrats and laughter from everyone. But Ray simply held his arms open and let Gideon jump into them. He picked her off the ground and spun her around as he repeated, “I’m a dad. I’m a dad to the most beautiful baby and-”

“We’re all so happy for you, Ray!” Gideon kissed him on the cheek. This was exactly what unbounded happiness felt like.

* * *

 

“Why are we at the museum?” Gideon asked again as she let Rip drag her through the hallways, “It closed hours ago, Rip.”

“Haven’t we already discussed how I get special privileges since it’s my museum?”

“It’s not yours. It’s the people’s. Honestly, we live in America. Everything is the people’s.”

“Rebels,” Rip shook his head, “Anyways, I wanted to show you something.” He came up to two large double doors and opened them up, only pitch black inside. “I wanted to see if you remembered.”

Gideon’s eyes widened, “The end of the universe exhibit?”

Rip nodded and held out his hand for her to take. Gideon happily obliged before following him in, the pitch-black giving way to thousands of lights everywhere. It still felt like walking in starlight.

“It’s still so beautiful,” Gideon whispered.

“I hoped you’d think so,” Rip nodded as he watched her. She was the most beautiful thing in there. “It was here for the summer. It’s done with its time here. We only get it every few years anyways.”

“Last time was three years ago,” Gideon commented, “And you’re bringing me at the end of its time here? Rip! You could have taken me here during the day.”

“No,” Rip shook his head, “It’s the last night here. They tear it down tomorrow. This is just for you. The last member of the public to see it.”

Gideon smiled at him, “I love it. Thank you, I love you.” Rip pulled her into his arms, hands around her waist while hers went around his neck.

“Yeah?” Rip breathed. He could feel his heart racing, and hoped she couldn’t feel his sweaty palms, “Do you remember what you said about this place the first time?”

Gideon frowned, “Didn’t we joke this was our first official date?” Of course things had changed and they had decided to keep their anniversary in October, when they had both stopped being idiots.

Rip nodded, “Yeah, and how you wanted to stay in my arms?”

“Yeah, of course I do. It was the easiest thing, just being with you,” Gideon sighed.

“That was a long time ago. Do you still feel that way?”

“Always,” Gideon promised, “I always feel safe and loved when I’m with you.”

Rip nodded and took a step back so Gideon had to drop her arms; his hands were on her hips. He moved them to take her hands as he got down on one knee.

“Rip?” Gideon questioned with wide eyes.

“When we first started officially dating, we both promised to try and keep trying for this relationship. And I still want that. I want to make sure you feel safe and loved with me, always. I want to make that official. I want you to be a part of the family on paper, I know we don’t need it, but I want it. I want to call you my wife. I want to marry you. And I’m hoping you do too.” Rip took a breath and reached into his jacket to pull out a velvet box. He opened it and asked, “Will you marry me?”

Gideon stared at him for a few moments, Rip suddenly became worried he had done it wrong. That he understood wrong, maybe Gideon didn’t want to get married. At least not now. He made to get up when Gideon dropped to the floor next to him and kissed him. He wobbled slightly as Gideon threw her weight onto him but easily grabbed her waist and held her. Gideon’s hands travelled from his shoulders to his hair and back down to his jacket as Rip moaned into the kiss.

He managed to pull back a bit and breathed heavily, “You know even a kiss as good as that doesn’t count as an answer, right?”

Gideon laughed and looked down, blushing no doubt – darn the darkness for not letting him see it - before she kissed him again, “Yes. Yes, I will marry you. Of course I will. I love you.”

“I love you too. So much,” Rip kissed her again and again. He stopped only to slide the ring onto Gideon’s finger.

“It’s beautiful,” Gideon commented quietly.

“It’s so dark you can hardly see it,” Rip rolled his eyes as he repositioned them; easily stretching his legs out and pulling Gideon into his lap.

“Still, I know it’s beautiful,” Gideon tucked her head into the crook of his neck.

“So are you,” Rip told her as he kissed the crown of her head, his hand already playing with the ring on Gideon’s hand, “Absolutely beautiful.”

“It’s so dark, how can you tell?” Gideon teased.

“Because it’s you. I’m always going to think you’re beautiful.” Gideon kissed his neck for that and enjoyed the few moments of peace they had.

“I really should have realized something was happening,” she finally commented, “I mean, you’re wearing a suit. You hardly ever wear suits.”

“Only for you,” Rip agreed. Gideon laughed along with him as they sat there surrounded by the lights, by the infinite beauty.

* * *

 

“Hi Iris,” Rip greeted as he walked in, “Is she busy?”

“She’s finishing up with a client. You supposed to be here?” Iris asked him.

Rip shrugged, “Since when is it a crime to surprise my wife for lunch?” Iris rolled her eyes but waved him off to the hallway. Rip walked by the door as soon as it opened and Gideon stepped out with two other women.

“Don’t worry Alex,” the blonde gushed, “They’re really good over here. I promise! I mean they found me a match, they’ll find you one too!”

Alex rolled her eyes, “Alright Kara. Calm down now. And thanks for your time again. Even if it is hopeless.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Rip interrupted, “Her code’s never wrong. And she’s brilliant at her job. If she says she’ll find you a match she will, and within the time limit. Even if it’s only just, and with someone completely unexpected.” Rip winked at Gideon who blushed but beamed at the sight of him. “I would know,” Rip continued, showing off the wedding band on his finger and subtly eyeing the matching one Gideon wore.

Alex and Kara followed his line of sight, Kara squealed loudly while Alex rolled her eyes at her sister, a slight smile on her face. They thanked Gideon again and smiled at Rip before heading out.

“Have I ever told you how embarrassing you can be?” Gideon asked.

“What? I am just extremely proud of my wife, Mrs. Hunter,” Rip kissed her. He loved getting to call her that. His wife. Mrs. Hunter. Miranda had never changed her name, so Gideon let him call her Mrs. Hunter all he wanted. And all Gideon asked in return was that he wear his wedding ring, properly this time.

“Still embarrassing, Mr. Hunter,” Gideon teased, her arms still hanging around his neck.

“No, embarrassing is the fact that we have your codes’ results for us framed on our mantle. Though more for us and how stupid we were back then,” Rip told her.

“Yes. I think that was the point when Felicity and Ray gave it to us as a wedding present. Though really, it’s our own fault for having it out on display.” Rip hummed in response and pulled her to his side as he began walking her down the hall.

“Is there any particular reason you’re here?” Gideon asked.

“Am I not allowed to take you out to lunch? My lovely wife?” Rip shrugged easy-going.

“Rip, why are we going to lunch?” Gideon asked as they said bye to Iris and headed out to the sandwich shop across the street.

“I just missed you and wanted to talk to you,” Rip avoided eye contact, “And if you want to talk in particular about this girl Jonas currently has a crush on, then by all means, feel free.”

“Rip!”

“What? I’m his father, I still say he’s far too young to be dating and-”

“Oh for goodness sake, he’s in high school. You have got to let him grow up at some point.”

“I am letting him grow up!” Rip argued, “I just don’t see why he has to date anyone. Or why I’m not allowed to by a shotgun to threaten the girl, what ever happened to equality?”

“Rip!”

“Fine,” Rip grumbled.

“Good. Besides,” Gideon consoled him as they took their seats, “Miranda is plenty terrifying. No need for the shotgun.”

Rip laughed, “Fair enough. Why did he come to you and not me though? I’m plenty of help!”

“Oh I see, you’re just jealous,” Gideon teased as they looked through their menus, “That he picked me over you.”

“Obviously,” Rip didn’t bother denying it.

“He asked me because I’m a woman and a matchmaker. So he wants my opinion. Obviously,” Gideon returned his sass.

“Can’t be that good of a matchmaker, took you forever to see the obvious pairing of us,” Rip teased. He moved on, innocently asking, “Think you can run your code on him and find out if this girl is going to break his heart?”

“You know I’m against running code for loved ones,” Gideon chided.

Rip snorted as he reiterated, “It’s a shame really. Would have saved us a lot of time if we had just run the code for us.”

“We got there eventually,” Gideon said quietly.

“Yeah, we did,” Rip agreed as he covered Gideon’s hand with his own, “And I wouldn’t change how we got here for anything. At least we got here. I love you.”

“I love you too,” Gideon responded easily.

“It was worth it,” Rip repeated, “Even if it did take us six whole months to realize it.”

* * *

 

Rip Hunter and Gideon Stevenson: Results

99% Match

Highest match percentile available.

Result: Soulmates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end. For real this time.
> 
> This story is over, but this universe is not. At some point I plan on making a series of oneshots revolving around other pairings and friendships and how those developed: Captain Canary, Rip & Leonard, Ray & Gideon, Kendra & Jonas. 
> 
> And there are a lot more stories to tell: Gideon being blonde, Thanksgiving dinner, Timeship wedding. So feel free to always prompt me from this universe.
> 
> Most of all, I want to thank you all for the constant support, encouragement and reviews and everything. They definitely gave me the motivation to finish this fic. Thank you all so, so, so much!
> 
> Consider leaving one last review/kudos as a birthday present? Thank you all!!

**Author's Note:**

> And so it begins.
> 
> If you do like it, please let me know with kudos/comments? I'm not good at updating/finishing multichaps so I need all the motivation I can get.
> 
> Thank you all so much!


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